Caged Bird
by Lauren Wagner
Summary: Set two weeks after Music Soothes the Wild Beckett, Beckett catches his harp player again. Will have the second and third movies included COMPLETED
1. Chapter 1

For the first time in a long time, Beckett started to second guess one of his decisions.

It had been two weeks since he had sent out one of his fastest ships to go after the two pirates he had released because of a foolishly made bet, and they had not yet returned to him with the one called Ragetti and the dog with the keys.

Standing in front of his window, staring out at the sea, he mentally chided himself for how he had carried himself and allowed those two to escape.

How could he have been so stupid as to accept the bet in the first place? He should have known that something was up with the way that the bald one had been smiling at him; like he knew something that Beckett did not.

As for the eye; Beckett had done some research on his own after letting them go and he had learned that one of the pirate lords from old had been missing one eye. The wooden eye currently with Ragetti was this pirate lord's own wooden eye, and Beckett had just sat there and let Pintel take it from him!

And then there was his idea of letting them have a three day lead. It shouldn't have been enough for them to make it anywhere, and there was no way that a simple rowboat could escape from the HMS Hunter either.

So what could have happened?

Softly, Beckett clicked his teeth together in annoyance, and he turned away from the window and headed for his desk, lightly brushing a hand over his harp as he walked past. He had the instrument cleaned everyday, the strings changed and made ready for when his new harp player would be brought to him and forced to play his beautiful music for him and only him.

He had commissioned a new stool to be crafted to go with the harp, one with a shackle connected to one of the legs with a very short chain.

Ragetti's song played out in his mind as he looked at the harp and the stool, and he closed his eyes and in his mind's eye, he watched him playing the harp. His slender fingers had worked over the strings so easily…Like he had been born to play the harp.

Beckett smiled at the image, and he picked up a small box from his desk, opening it and looking inside.

He had ordered one of the best glass workers to make the eye as real as possible. The lanky pirate's one blue eye had also caught Beckett's attention, and he knew that the blue of the glass eye would easily match his real one.

Now all he needed was the one eyed man to give it to him.

"Sir!"

Flipping the box shut, Beckett turned to face the soldier standing at attention in the doorway.

"What is it?"

"It's the Hunter, sir." The soldier explained with a salute. "She's been spotted headed this way."

A smile spread across his face and the soldier gulped and took a slight step back despite himself. It was never a good thing when Beckett smiled at you.

"Good." Beckett said simply, stepping out without another word, a kind of bounce in his step as he watched his ship sailing towards Port Royal; hopefully carrying precious cargo of the one eyed kind.


	2. Chapter 2

"What took you so long?"

The captain of the HMS Hunter had seen countless battles during his many years of serving with the East India Trading Company. He was credited with being the harshest and cruelest captain to serve under, and every member of his crew sported lash scars on their backs to attest to this fact.

And yet, this big and brawny man flinched when Beckett asked him a simple question in a soft and calm voice.

The two men were currently walking across the deck of the ship, heading for the brig. Down below, Beckett could hear the dog with the keys barking like some kind of wild beast and he inwardly frowned at the idea of having a wild mutt around that liked the pirate.

"After we threw the fat one overboard with a rock around his throat, chaos erupted and we were forced to dock somewhere else for more supplies and to get a doctor onboard." The captain explained. He had been the kind of man who was against having a doctor onboard the ship, saying that letting the weak ones die off was much better for the rest of the crew.

"Chaos? On your ship?" Beckett stopped walking and he arched an eyebrow at the man questioningly.

"The one eyed bloke you wanted kept alive…He just started wailing and screaming like a wounded animal or something."

"And this is the supposed chaos?"

"He…He tried to kill himself a few times."

"What?!"

Anger was on Beckett's face and the captain winced and groaned softly.

"How did this happen?!"

"Well…the first time he tried it, he threw himself overboard and my men were forced to drag him out of the water. The second time, he tried to hang himself with his shirt."

Beckett ground his teeth together for a moment, questioning the man's intelligence and finding him greatly lacking.

"Did he try anymore times?"

"Just one more…"

"Well?"

"He got a hold of a knife…and he had just slit his right wrist when one of my men found him. We were forced to keep him in heavy restraints after that."

Beckett was furious about this, but a sudden thought came to him and he frowned.

"He slit his right wrist first?"

"He's left handed."

"So that's why he was able to play those notes like that…"

"Sir?"

Beckett looked almost surprised that someone was standing beside him while he mused aloud. When he got over it, a smile played on those thin lips of his.

"How long have you been a captain?"

"Fifteen years, sir."

"That's a long time." He commented. "Mercer!" he shouted.

The man seemed to materialize out of thin air.

"Sir?"

"I want that dog and my new harp player washed up and set up in my office in no less than two hours." Beckett ordered, suddenly throwing an arm around the surprised captain's shoulders.

Mercer noted the dangerous look in his master's eyes and when Beckett began to lead the captain over to one side of the ship; his suspicions were confirmed.

Beckett had one hand behind his back, holding a small toy cannon tightly.

A wicked smile crossed Mercer's face as he headed for the brig to collect his master's new toy.

There was a loud bang and the captain of the HMS Hunter was fired without pay.


	3. Chapter 3

The dog with the keys seemed to have transformed into a snarling beast in the last two weeks. He was locked up in a small cage, his fur looking matted and caked with filth. His usual keys were not in his mouth anymore either; they lay forgotten in the corner while he snarled at any red coat that came down there to feed him and his master.

The dog had liked being with the two seemingly mismatched pirates. Ragetti had absolutely adored him and whenever he was not rowing their boat, he was either hugging him around his neck or scratching him behind his floppy ears. Pintel had put on a tough front at first, but it was soon destroyed when it was revealed that he snuck the dog his own scraps of food on a regular basis.

They had even taken the time to give him a name; something the Navy had never thought of before.

Lazzaro's hackles rose as Mercer came down the stairs and chains softly rattled in the cell beside him.

Ragetti had started to gain weight again while they were in the rowboat; trying to make up for all of the weight he had lost when they were in prison. He had had no choice really; Pintel had threatened never to talk to him again if he didn't eat double of what he usually did at every meal.

He lost the weight he had gained while in the brig of the HMS Hunter, plus even more weight.

His will to live was also shot to Hell and this accounted for the heavy chains weighing him down. His ankles were put in shackles, the middle chain connected to the floor with a lock. His hands were locked in a small kind of model for the stocks and wrapped tightly with cloth, making it impossible for him to try and do anything to himself with his hands made useless.

Mercer frowned at the snarling Lazzaro as he came down the steps, his hand itching to stop its growls with a slit throat.

"Lyin' son o' a bitch…"

The words were whispered and soft, but hatred burned with each one.

Mercer snorted, resting his hands on his hips.

"The deal was that you would get a boat, supplies, and the dog." He reminded him.

"Lazzaro."

"What?"

"Et means 'God 'as 'elped'. Lazzaro is 'is name."

Looking him over, Mercer vaguely wondered how he could still be alive. His maroon shirt was open and his ribs could be easily counted. His face also looked worn and tired, his cheekbones more pronounced than usual from his sudden weight loss.

He looked more like a skeleton with skin wrapped around it.

"Pathetic." He growled. "I hate weak people."

"Then kill me." Ragetti offered flatly. The man laughed, shaking his head as he opened the cell door and stepped inside.

"I would love to, but Beckett has all ready decided that you are his new musician. He wouldn't like it if I killed you."

As the chain to his shackles was unlocked from the floor, Ragetti mustered up enough saliva to spit in the man's face.

"I won' play nuffin' fer 'im!" he growled.

Mercer's lip twitched as his urge to kill rose but he restrained himself by grabbing Ragetti's hair and yanking him onto his feet this way, making the man yelp in pain.

Lazzaro began to bark wildly when he saw his master hurt.

"I'm going to kill that mutt if you don't shut it up!" Mercer warned, twisting his hair badly. "Don't think I won't!"

Ragetti mumbled something in Italian and Lazzaro fell silent.

"And he had better not act wild when I come to collect him either!"

Once again, Ragetti gave Lazzaro an order in Italian, and the dog sat on its haunches and whined softly, lightly pawing at its bars.

"Much better." Mercer nodded, leading Ragetti out by grabbing his bound wrists and pulling, ignoring the fact that his right wrist was heavily bandaged from when he had slit it a week ago.

He brought Ragetti back to Beckett's mansion before handing him over to two soldiers.

"He wants this pirate washed up within the hour. Bring him to Beckett's office once his body and clothes are cleaned up." He ordered. He then paused for a moment, looking Ragetti over with a frown.

"Make sure you use lots of soap with this one." He added, ripping the wooden eye from his head.

For the first time since Pintel had died, Ragetti fought back.

Kicking out with legs that looked more like sticks, the lanky man swore up a storm as his clothes were removed, revealing a body that was covered in old and new scars and bruises.

The soldiers at first roughly held him down in the tub, pouring hot water over his body and scrubbing at the dirt and filth with rough sponges that scratched his skin raw.

The torment continued until Murtogg and Mullroy heard Ragetti's screams of pain and the two of them for once were able to successfully chase away their crueler comrades; pity fueling their actions.

Ragetti whimpered softly as he was left with the two of them, shutting his eye tightly as he believed that more pain was to come, but he received none and as a soft sponge was used to clean his face and cuts, he opened his eye and looked at them in surprise.

He tried to stammer out questions, but the soldiers just shook their heads and waved them off.

When Ragetti's body was rid of every last piece of dirt and filth, he was dried off and forced to wait with a towel around his waist as his clothes were washed and mended.

It had been suggested that the articles be burnt, but when the pirate had reacted violently towards this suggestion, a seamstress was called in instead.

When it was all said and done, Ragetti still looked like the living dead, but he was washed and wearing clothes that almost looked new now.

Mercer was standing in front of Beckett's office when Ragetti was being brought in, and he frowned slightly at his looks.

The man was…actually attractive when you looked past how thin and frail he was. With golden hair and one stunning blue eye, Mercer supposed that he would have been a ladies man in another lifetime.

This made him hate the former pirate more, and he roughly grabbed him by the throat, pulling him in close.

"I would do whatever I'm told if I were you!" he snarled. "Lord Beckett doesn't take kindly to rebellious slaves!"

"Then I'll be meetin' Pintel shortly." Ragetti countered with a sad smile. "Smellin' loik daises an' lilac wif clothes wot look loik new!"

Narrowing his eyes, Mercer desperately wanted to pop out the man's other eye with his thumb, but he did not want Beckett's wrath and so he merely let him go.

"I'll let you find out on your own what happens to slaves who don't obey their masters." He said to try and save face, leading him inside and forcing him to sit on the stool as his ankle was locked into place.

Ragetti snorted softly at this arrangement, lightly pulling on his chain.

"Does 'e plan on keepin' me in 'ere all the toime then?" he asked. "Ta play when 'is lordship demands et, eh?"

"Where else would you keep a songbird?" Beckett asked, leaning against the frame of the door. "You will be staying in my office and you will play that harp just as beautifully as you did before."

"Your musician, sir." Mercer said, giving him a curt bow before starting to head out.

"Shut the door behind you." Beckett ordered, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips when he saw the unafraid look on Ragetti's face. "I have a feeling this is going to get very loud very soon…"

As he shut the door, Mercer watched Beckett pick up a figurine of a soldier, and he agreed.


	4. Chapter 4

"I aint goin' ta play yer any music so ye migh' as well kill me naow!" Ragetti huffed, turning away from the smiling Beckett.

Beckett chuckled at his proposal, twirling the small figurine in his hand.

"How noble of you to say that." He said. "And how should I kill you?"

"Et don' matta ta me. I've been dead since Pintel was drowned by yer red coated dogs!" Ragetti snapped, his eye starting to water at the memory of seeing Pintel hurled over the side and landing in the water with a splash; a heavy rock tied around his throat to drag him down to the bottom.

A single tear drop of blood slipped from the corner of his empty eye socket and he shuddered and flinched away from Beckett's gloved finger as it wiped the oddity away.

"That hole can still produce tears?"

"Sometoimes…"

"Fascinating!"

"I'm no' some kind o' animal fer ye ta study!" he snarled.

"Of course you're an animal." Beckett snorted. "You're my pet."

"I tol' ye! I won' play ye music loik some kind o' bird in a cage!"

Beckett narrowed his eyes and twisted off the figurine's head. It was hollow inside, a thick black pin held within. Shaking the pin out, Beckett cupped his hand and kept it hidden as he slowly started to walk behind Ragetti.

"You're positive then?" he asked. "You refuse to be my harp player?"

"Aye!" Ragetti growled, refusing to look at him, staring hard out the window at the setting sun. "I would rather die than be yer slave!"

The pin was plunged into the back of his neck.

Pain erupted from behind Ragetti's eye and as he went blind, he howled and fell off of the stool.

"Me eye! Ye've blinded me!" he screamed, clapping his hands over his now dead eye.

The pin was twisted, and his arms and legs soon felt the same intense pain as they started to convulse and feel like they were on fire.

"Pressure points are beautiful things." Beckett said softly, ignoring the fact that Ragetti's agonized screams were drowning him out. "They can take away and give pain in such amazing ways!"

"Please…" Ragetti whimpered.

"Are you going to be my harp player?" Beckett asked. "Or shall I take out a few more pins and use them on you?"

Ragetti bit his tongue, whimpering.

"Well? I am waiting for an answer, pet."

"I…I'll play…"

The pin was removed, and Ragetti could see again almost instantly, the pain leaving him just as fast.

He looked at his hands in faint wonder before he then looked at Beckett fearfully.

"Play me something happy." He ordered. "Something light that you could dance to if you could."

Nodding, Ragetti slowly got back onto his stool and with trembling hands he started to pluck the strings and play a happy tune for him as another blood tear fell.

Nodding, Beckett softly hummed along to the music as he went to his desk and picked up the glass eye.

"Don't look so miserable!" he chided him when the song was over. "I even bought you a gift! A beautifully crafted glass eye!"

Ragetti looked at the glass eye blankly.

"I loiked me wooden 'un betta." He snorted.

"I'm sure you did." Beckett said with a knowing smile.

Ragetti gave him a wary look, not liking that smile of his one bit.

"Wot ye smilin' fer?" he asked.

"I know what the eye is for and who _you_ are, Mackenzie Giovanni Ragetti! You are the direct descendant of Calix One Eye; one of the first pirate lords who helped seal Calypso away in her human form!"

Ragetti's eye slowly grew wide at the revelation.

"Bu'…'ow could ye know?!" he stammered.

"The wooden eye was his and it's one of the Pieces of Eight used to seal her away!" Beckett said with a triumphant laugh.

Leaning forward, he forced the glass eye into Ragetti's socket, making him flinch at its coldness as it popped into place and stayed put.

"You and this eye are one of the pieces I need to rid the world of pirates." He said happily. "You should feel honored! Now, sing me something!"

Ragetti could only stare at him in horror, shaking his head slowly.

"Yer insane…"

Beckett picked up the figurine of a pirate and when Ragetti saw the barbed tip on the end of the pin inside of it, he whimpered and shrank away, unable to get too far with his ankle chained to the stool.

Beckett could make pain last a very long time before the person finally passed out from it.


	5. Chapter 5

"Come on an' give us a smile, Rags!"

Ragetti had been staring out into the horizon, a small Bible open in his lap upside down when Pintel suddenly spoke up. Blinking, he looked over at him and Lazzaro in confusion.

"Eh?"

Pintel laughed and shook his head as Lazzaro glomped Ragetti and proceeded to lick his face excitedly.

"Oy!" Ragetti laughed, falling back heavily and making the rowboat rock violently.

"Tha's much betta." Pintel chuckled as Ragetti sat up with a lopsided smile and his arm around Lazzaro's neck. "I was startin' ta git worried."

"Wot fer, Pinters?"

"Ye 'adn' smiled in a while!" Pintel said. "I was startin' ta miss et."

"I was jus' finkin', Pint." Ragetti said with a shrug.

"Finkin'? Abou' wot?"

"I was jus' finkin' abou' 'ow clever ye were wi' Beckett back in Por' Royal." Ragetti said with a giggle. "'e were really mad when I go' 'im ta cry o'er me playin'!"

"Looked loik 'e swallowered a frog when ye started ta play!" Pintel nodded. "I knew 'e would fall fer et though. People loik 'im always fink they're betta than us regular folk. Did ye see 'ow big 'is eyes go' when ye knew wot kind o' 'arp 'e 'ad an' all? Loik 'e didn' fink ye would or somefing!"

"Did ye know tha' I knew et?" Ragetti asked, and Pintel blushed a bit and rubbed the back of his head.

"No' really…" he admitted.

"Did ye mean wot ye said afore?" Ragetti asked shyly. "Abou' 'ow I kin git birds ou' o' trees wi' me singin' an' playin'?"

Pintel smiled and nodded, bringing in the oars before he then opened up his arms. Ragetti crawled into his arms with a sigh, snuggling in close.

"I love yer, Pinters."

"I know ye do, Rags."

Lazzaro barked and the two laughed at him.

"We love yer too, Lazzaro! _Cane buono_." Ragetti assured him and the dog thumped his tail happily as he panted.

"I still don' unnerstan' why ye asked fer tha' dog." Pintel said, wrapping his arms around Ragetti's small middle. "'e's jus' another mouth ta feed! Ye need all the food ye kin git! I aint goin' ta be wi' a man wot looks loik a skellington wi' skin wrapped on et!"

Ragetti blushed slightly at the gentle reprimand and he looked away.

"I'm eatin' more than usual." He offered. Pintel snorted and shrugged.

"I suppose so." He admitted. "Bu' wot abou' the dog?"

"I used ta 'ave a dog when I were small." Ragetti said as he leaned into Pintel, resting an ear over his heart. "'e an' me mum were me only friends back then."

"Wot 'appened ta 'im?"

"Red coats killed 'im. Sho' 'im in the 'ead afta they raped me mum an' broke me arm."

Pintel winced at this, but Ragetti didn't seem to mind the hideous memory anymore.

"'e were a mutt dog loik Lazzaro is." He said with a smile. "Looked kind o' loik an Irish Wolfhound actually…"

They were silent for a while; Pintel holding Ragetti close as the lanky man listened to his heart beating gently in his chest.

"Ye loik listenin' ta me 'eart." Pintel pointed out. "Et was all ye did while we was in jail ye know. Why is tha'?"

"Et reminds me tha' yer 'ere wi' me." Ragetti explained. "When we was waitin' ta 'ang the idear o' us bein' 'anged on differen' days scared me more than the actual noose."

"Why was tha' the fing tha' scared yer?"

"Because I loves yer, Pint!" Ragetti said, sitting up a bit to look at him seriously. "If ye died afore me…I would 'ave ta die too!"

Reaching out with one hand, Pintel rested it on Ragetti's cheek, rubbing the skin with his thumb lightly.

"I aint leavin' yer side, Rags." He whispered softly.

"Ye promise?" Chuckling, Pintel kissed his lips.

"I promise!"

…

Waking with a jerk, Ragetti whimpered as he opened his eyes and found himself in Beckett's office, chained to the stool still with the harp holding him up.

Looking out at the starry sky through the window; Pintel's words came to him again and he started to cry, wishing that he could have been strong enough to die like he wanted to.


	6. Chapter 6

On the first day, Ragetti learned not to hesitate when Beckett ordered him to play as five pins were plunged into various pain points in his legs.

On the second day, he learned not to stop playing music as he was forced to take his bath in scalding hot sea water with a rough sponge that bruised and tore a bit at his skin.

On the third day, he learned not to ask for food as Beckett allowed a smiling Mercer to choke him until he blacked out with a piece of silken rope.

And on the fourth day, Ragetti learned that Beckett was a pervert.

It was after his bath when he was chained back to his stool that Beckett came in and he flinched and quickly started to play a song for him, his fingers moving over the strings slowly.

Beckett walked over to him and when he rested a hand on Ragetti's shoulder, he flinched and his fingers started to tremble badly.

"Why are you trembling?" Beckett asked. "It's ruining the song and I like this one."

"Sorry." Ragetti mumbled, turning his face away to look at the ground, unaware that he was giving Beckett a good look at his neck.

He shivered as the hand on his shoulder went to his cheek before trailing down the side of his neck to his collarbone.

"You're…actually quite attractive. For a pirate that is." He noted.

Ragetti stopped playing and he turned his back on Beckett as he hugged himself tightly.

"Don' e'en try et!" he demanded, but it sounded more like a weak plea.

Beckett looked at him silently and he smiled a bit as he took a strand of his hair between two fingers.

"The ends of your hair curl up when it dries." He observed. "I like that."

"Don' ye touch me!" Ragetti shouted as he pulled away and he screamed in pain as Beckett suddenly gripped his hair tightly and yanked his head back.

"Who is the master and who is the slave?" he asked, his voice soft and emotionless.

"Yer the masta…" Ragetti whimpered

"And?"

"An' I'm the slave."

"Exactly." Beckett nodded. "Now turn around and look at me, slave."

Ragetti did so and he shut his good eye tightly, his glass eye staring at Beckett as he rested the tips of his fingers on his red lips and traced them.

"They're soft…" he whispered. "That's so odd for a pirate."

"Please!" Ragetti pleaded, his lips starting to tremble. "Don'!"

"What's wrong? I thought you liked men."

"I loved Pinters! No 'un else!" Ragetti snapped angrily.

A sharp slap knocked him back into a whimper and a bowed head.

"You will learn to love me just as much as you did that fat balding bastard!" Beckett said, desperation heard faintly in his voice. "You're my slave and you will love your master!"

The green jacket was roughly taken off and thrown to the ground, Ragetti uttering a weak moan of protest. Beckett seemed to check himself then, and he looked down at the jacket curiously as he began to unbutton Ragetti's maroon shirt.

"How did you get a French jacket?" he asked as the shirt was removed.

"Stole et." Ragetti mumbled, shuddering as Beckett's fingers ghosted over his nipples. Noticing how sensitive they were, Beckett smiled wickedly as he took a hold of them and twisted.

Throwing his head back, Ragetti screamed and whimpered as Beckett's hand was clamped over his mouth.

"Don't make a sound." He purred, kissing away the small bloody tear that slid from under his glass eye.


	7. Chapter 7

Two weeks after getting Ragetti and making him his slave, Beckett finally made his move to take over Port Royal a bit more permanently by having Elizabeth and Will arrested for helping Captain Jack Sparrow.

Ragetti was moved to the corner of the room to make enough space for the servants and soldiers that were constantly coming and going to receive their orders from Beckett now.

He was ordered to play soft music for the entire day and his fingers were starting to bleed from the constant stream of music playing he had to do.

He watched as William made a deal with Beckett; the blacksmith refusing to look at him the whole time as he swore to get Jack's compass.

Elizabeth's entrance in the office was a bit more dramatic as she pointed a pistol in Beckett's face.

Smiling, Ragetti prayed for her to pull the trigger and end it.

But Beckett was not moved by the death threat and he just looked away and waved a hand at her, trying to dismiss her.

Ragetti caught her eye and she promptly turned the pistol on him instead.

"Maybe if I shoot him you'll reconsider?" she asked and she knew that she had won when genuine fear crossed Beckett's face. "He seems to be very important to you!"

Looking back at Ragetti, she frowned slightly as she thought that she recognized him from somewhere. It had been a long time since she had seen her kidnapper and he was certainly different looking from before.

His mustache and small goatee were far more well groomed than before and his clothes and face were also much cleaner now that he took a bath every night. His hair was also longer and well groomed, the tips curling naturally.

Pausing, Elizabeth frowned when she saw the pleading look in his good eye.

"Do et, poppet." He whispered and her eyes grew wide when she suddenly realized who he was.

"There! Now move that pistol away from his face!" Beckett ordered, slapping the papers down on his desk. "If you shoot him…I won't hesitate to kill you with my bare hands!"

She looked Ragetti over for a moment more before turning and taking the papers, giving Beckett a glare before leaving.

Ragetti shuddered and groaned as Beckett ran over and hugged him tightly, burying his face in his neck.

"I thought she was going to kill you!" he said, genuine emotion in his voice. "I would die if something happened to my precious harp player!"

Ragetti was silent, cursing Elizabeth for her cowardice and inability to pull a simple trigger.


	8. Chapter 8

The only person of noble blood that Ragetti had ever felt sorry for was his mother.

However, he was starting to feel sorry for another as Beckett stood in front of the map that had been put up behind his desk, his back facing the rest of the room as Weatherby Swann was brought in, his rich clothes gone and his face looking worn and old without his big wig.

He was pleading for his daughter's life after Beckett told him about his pursuit of the Black Pearl and everyone on it and Ragetti found it interesting that the man did not care about his own condition, just his daughter's.

In the end, a deal was struck and his shackles were removed before Beckett and his soldiers left him alone with Ragetti in the office, promising to return with clothes more suitable for a governor to wear.

Falling into a chair, Weatherby held his head in his hands in shame.

"What have I done?"

"Ye shouldn' feel so bad."

Blinking, Weatherby looked up in surprise at the lanky man chained to his harp, noticing him for the first time.

"Who..?"

"Me name's Ragetti." He said with a shrug, looking down at his bleeding fingers. "Ye kin call me Rags if'n ye wan' ta though. Et don' really matta ta me."

Weatherby stared at him before recognition dawned on him.

"You were one of the pirates from the Black Pearl!" he said.

"Aye."

"You…you and the other one were caught in dresses!" Blushing at the memory, Ragetti looked down at the ground and nodded once more.

"'e did look noice in tha' yeller dress." He mumbled as if to himself.

"What are you doing here?" Weatherby asked.

"Beckett killed me matelot an' keeps me 'ere ta play 'im music." He said softly, looking away. Weatherby blushed, feeling sorry for bringing up something that must have been painful for the young man.

"I'm a horrible person." He murmured to himself.

"Why do ye say tha'?" Ragetti asked, looking up.

"I just gave up my daughter's fiancé and Port Royal to a demented freak in a horrible wig." he said.

"Bu' ye did et fer yer daughter." Ragetti pointed out. "Tha's wot a paren' does fer their children. They make sacrifices fer 'em."

"And what would a pirate like you know about a parent making sacrifices?" Weatherby snapped.

"Me mum died fer me." Ragetti said. Weatherby winced at this.

"Sorry."

Shrugging, Ragetti smiled for the first time in a long time.

"Et's all righ'." He said. "Ye remind me o' 'er actually." He admitted.

"Why is that?"

"She used ta be a lady o' 'igh standin' afore she met me da'." He explained with a shrug. "Bu' then 'e lef' 'er alone in Tortuga an' she was forced ta be a whore ta raise me."

"What was her name?" Weatherby asked gently, feeling a little sorry for him and his mother.

Ragetti looked up in thought and Weatherby realized that one of his eyes was not real, but just a really well made glass one.

"Eliza…Amity…" he hesitated then, unable to remember her last name.

"Eliza Amity Annot?!" Weatherby offered in surprise. Ragetti thought about it for a moment before he then smiled and nodded.

"Tha's et! Me mum's name was Eliza Amity Annot!" he said. "Bu' 'ow did ye know et?"

"The Annot family has a lot of influence in London, even though it's common knowledge that their only daughter ran off to be with a pirate." Weatherby admitted. "I can't believe that you're her son!"

Blushing, Ragetti shrugged.

"I suppose so." He said. "I can' believe et either really."

"But you spoke about sacrifices before and how she died for you. How did she die?" he asked.

Ragetti was silent, and Weatherby blushed.

"I'm sorry. If it's too painful for you…"

"Nah…I'm jus' finkin' abou' et." Ragetti assured him.

The silence lingered on for a few minutes, Ragetti's fingers dancing over the strings before he suddenly spoke up again.

" 'er pimp…'e were a righ' evil bastar' ta 'er!" he growled, narrowing his good eye. "'un day I followed 'er while she was workin' an' I saw 'im 'it 'er! I ran a' 'im an'…'e 'it me an' was goin' ta stab me when she stepped in…"

A flash of red splattered on the walls came into his mind and he winced and pressed his hands against his temples.

"He killed her." Weatherby finished gently.

"Aye." Ragetti nodded, lowering his hands and resting them in his lap sadly. "She died fer me, an' all I did was become a bloody pirate loik me da' an' 'is soide o' the family. They were all pirate lords, bu' I was too stoopid ta become 'un meself. Barbossa was picked instea' o' me."

Weatherby was not sure what he could say to try and make him feel better, but he did stand up and walk over to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure that your mother is watching you right now, and that she's proud of you." He offered.

"I'm sure yer wife is doin' the same fing." Ragetti said and Weatherby looked down at him in surprise.

"How did..?"

"Why are you touching my harp player?"

The two men flinched and looked over at Beckett in surprise.

"We was jus' talkin'."

"Just talking, what?" Beckett demanded.

"Masta." Ragetti sighed. Nodding stiffly, Beckett gave Weatherby a warning look.

"I'll let it slide this time, but don't ever touch my harp player again. Understood?"

Looking over at a miserable Ragetti, Weatherby nodded and Beckett smiled happily.

"Good."


	9. Chapter 9

Norrington was an utter mess when he suddenly came into Beckett's office, his hair wild and covered in mud and his face bearing an unkempt beard.

Blinking, Ragetti stopped his playing and watched as the disgraced officer slapped down some papers on Beckett's desk.

"Norrington?"

The scruffy looking man turned and looked at him with cold eyes.

"Where's Beckett?" he demanded.

"'e's ou' righ' naow." Ragetti answered. "'e's off watchin' a play. 'e should be back lata."

"Then I'll just wait over here." Norrington said, sitting down in one of the large cushion chairs that Beckett only allowed important guests to sit in.

"Why do ye look loik tha'?"

"Like what?" he snapped, in a sour mood.

"Loik…a mess?"

"You have your old crewmates to thank for that!" Norrington snapped. "Now kindly stop talking before I shut your mouth for you!"

Flinching, Ragetti nodded as he wrung his hands together, glancing over at the papers on the desk.

They looked familiar somehow, like he had seen them before.

Shrugging, he quietly looked back at his harp and he lightly began to play, deciding to play an old Naval song for his guest.

It was a slow and sad piece and Norrington soon found himself listening to it sadly.

"How do you know that song?" he asked when it was finished, his voice softer than before.

"I was in the Navy fer a bit." He said with a shrug. "Wi' me mate Pinters."

"Pinters?" Norrington asked with a frown.

"Pintel." He explained.

Norrington thought for a moment and he then looked back at Ragetti in surprise now.

"What's your full name?" he asked.

"Mackenzie Giovanni Ragetti…"

"The same Mackenzie Ragetti who was First Lieutenant of the HMS Proud Tortoise? Who once was successful in saving a merchant ship from pirates at the loss of his eye?" Norrington asked.

Ragetti blushed, shrugging his shoulders. He was always embarrassed when his Naval past was brought up, especially since he had been forced to join in the first place.

"Aye."

Norrington stared at him in surprise, but he was stopped from speaking further when Beckett came in and Ragetti quickly started to play music.

Cocking an eyebrow, Beckett picked up the papers and Norrington stood up, pointing out that he had taken the liberty of putting his name on them.

"And what do you have to pay for these?" Beckett asked with an arched eyebrow and Ragetti frowned in confusion when Norrington threw down a wrapped up parcel on the desk.

When Beckett took out Davy Jones' beating heart with an evil smile playing at his lips, Ragetti's eye grew wide in horror.


	10. Chapter 10

Ragetti's eye widened when Beckett's guest suddenly stormed into the office while his master was away, and he stopped playing the harp at once, his hands trembling too badly for him to play.

He was terrified of his master's new guest; despite the fact that he had a bucket tied to each foot filled with water that sloshed about as he moved; leaving a trail of moisture everywhere he went.

Davy Jones looked around the room slowly and when he only found Ragetti in it, he grumbled softly as he headed towards him, faintly amused as the harp player pulled on his shackle to try and run from him.

Calmly he took out his pipe with his tentacles and as he leaned forward to look Ragetti in his eye, it was lit and he blew a sour smelling ring in his face.

"Do you fear death, son of a Pirate Lord and descendant of one of the first Pirate Lords?" he asked, smacking his lips together to make a popping sound with them. "Do you fear what will happen once you die and are forced to face your sins?"

"I'm no' afraid o' death." Ragetti whispered, his eye tearing up from the smoke being blown into it.

Frowning, Davy stood up straight, his clawed hand snapping shut loudly.

"And why is that? Have you made your peace all ready with everything you've done?" he scoffed.

"No, bu' I'm no' afraid ta die nonetheless." Ragetti answered. "I pray fer et every nigh' afta Beckett is done rapin' me."

Davy's lips began to move rapidly at this blunt statement and a noise that could have been a laugh escaped him.

"I figured Cutler to be the one getting taken from behind, not the other way around." He said.

"Regardless, tha' is why I'm no' afraid." Ragetti said and he barely flinched as Davy's claw was suddenly around his neck, tightened just enough to let him speak.

"Are you now? So if I were to snap my claw and take your head off…" Davy asked, leaving the sentence open.

"I would be in yer debt fer freein' me o' this loife. This aint 'ow a pirate should live." Ragetti answered honestly.

For a moment, Davy almost really did kill him, if only to give the pirate some kind of mercy killing, but he instead took his claw away and snorted, putting away his pipe as he heard people coming.

Beckett soon came in, followed by Mercer who was holding a large wooden chest in his arms.

Jones eyed the chest hungrily and Beckett smiled as he stood in front of the fearsome creature, leaving Mercer to set the chest down on the desk.

"Whoever is in charge of the heart is in charge of the Flying Dutchman." Beckett said. "And I am in possession of the heart, Master Jones."

Jones made a popping sound with his lips, the ends of his tentacles curling up in rage.

"Give me back my heart." he growled. "If you do, I might not crush your skull with my claw!"

"Mercer?"

The chest was opened and a pistol aimed at the beating organ inside and Jones' anger instantly flagged at the open threat on his life.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I want every single pirate dead to make room for the East Indian Trading Company to rule the seas." Beckett answered. "And I also want some of Sonata for harp in G major playing right now." He added sharply and Ragetti nodded as he began to play the Bach made piece of music.

Glancing over at his harp player, Beckett frowned when he saw redness around his neck slowly growing darker to form a bruise and he instantly turned his gaze on Jones.

"You touched my harp player." He said flatly.

"And what if I did then?" Jones snorted. "Just because you bugger him, that doesn't mean I need to respect the weak thing!"

Narrowing his eyes, Beckett tried to think of how he could punish Davy Jones for bruising his toy and he soon had it.

"I have your first assignment." He said, placing his hands behind his back.

"Do you now? And what makes you think I'll take orders from you?"

"Mercer?"

The pistol was cocked and made ready.

Jones' lip curled as he narrowed his eyes.

"What is it?"

"I want you to kill your pet kraykin…"

"Kraken."

Silence filled the room as Ragetti corrected his master and Beckett turned angry eyes on him.

"What?" he snapped.

Ragetti's fingers paused for a moment before going back to playing.

"Et's pronounced kraken. From the original Scandinavian." He explained softly.

He thought it over for a moment, and he then shrugged.

"Masta." He added finally.

Jones chuckled at Ragetti's correction and Beckett frowned as he balled his hands into fists.

"Either way!" he snapped, turning back to the captain of the Flying Dutchman. "I want your pet killed!"

"Why?" Davy demanded. "She could be useful!"

"She would be your weapon against me!" Beckett countered. "And I won't have it! Now destroy it before I destroy you!"

Davy Jones straightened up then, towering over Cutler Beckett as he glared down at him. His clawed hand snapped open and closed several times, wishing that he could snap his head off.

Mercer's pistol dug into the heart and Jones winced before he then backed down.

"Fine…" he growled and he left them alone once more, the water in his bucket shoes sloshing out more rapidly as he slammed his feet on the ground.

"Leave us, Mercer." Beckett ordered, looking down at Ragetti coldly.

Nodding, Mercer shot Ragetti a wicked smile before taking the chest and heading for the door.

"And, Mercer?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Beat that dog for me?" Ragetti winced at the order.

"With pleasure, sir!" Mercer nodded.

Once the door was shut, Beckett's hand flew out and Ragetti was knocked to the ground with the blow, his bottom lip cut and bleeding from connecting with his ring.

"Did you think that was funny? Correcting me in front of Jones like that?" Beckett demanded.

"Ye said et wrong. Ye 'ad ta say et righ'!" Ragetti argued; his lower lip trembling as Beckett headed for his toys once more.

Any confidence he had been starting to gain back was gone when Beckett reached for the figurine that he had made of Ragetti. The pin inside was covered in small spikes that tore into the skin when inserted into his flesh, causing more pain when it was twisted.

"Please! Don' use the pins agin, masta!" Ragetti wailed despite himself and Beckett was forced to pause and look down at him, the figurine held in his hand tightly.

"Are you sorry for trying to make your master feel stupid?"

"Aye…"

"And are you ever going to do that again?"

"No!"

"Then kiss me and show me how sorry you are." Beckett purred, reaching down to run his fingers through Ragetti's hair.

He shuddered at the touch but nodded, having no other choice but to submit while Davy Jones was forced to kill his pet.


	11. Chapter 11

Since their first meeting, Weatherby Swann and Ragetti became fast friends in slavery.

Weatherby would often come and bring Ragetti news about his dog Lazzaro; which was relatively good news ever since Murtogg and Mullroy took the dog in and began caring for him.

In return for this news, Ragetti would play music for him and tell him everything that Beckett was planning to do. Weatherby often felt guilty about handing Port Royal over to the madman, but Ragetti would try his best to comfort him; pointing out his daughter's cleverness in defeating the old crew of the Black Pearl as proof that she and the others would defeat Beckett and this would always cheer the governor up.

However, when Beckett started filling up every jail in Port Royal with prisoners, the two became worried about his plans. While Ragetti was forced to play music and Weatherby to sign cruel laws into effect; the two would often steal glances at each other, wondering what Beckett was up to now.

…

"His daughter's dead you know."

Ragetti's fingers froze over the strings and he looked at Beckett in horror.

The man was looking at his map, his back facing him as he kept his hands behind his back in serious concentration. Frowning, he wiped some dirt away from the map before turning to Ragetti.

"Why did you stop playing?"

"'ow do ye know?" Ragetti asked.

"I want mus…"

"Fergit the bloody music!" Ragetti snapped. "'ow do ye know Poppet's dead?!"

Becket was silent, his eyes narrowed.

"Please, masta!" Ragetti tried. "Tell me!"

"The kraken found them a few weeks before Norrington came and gave me the heart." Beckett answered coldly. "I had a few ships go out to see if they could find anything and among the wreckage and dead pirates…they found a woman's hand."

Ragetti grew deathly pale.

"It was badly rotten, but you could still tell that it was a woman's…"

"Stop."

"The skin slid right off when they tried to retrieve it…"

"Stop et!"

"You were the one demanding to know what happened to her!" Beckett huffed. Noting the look on Ragetti's face, he frowned and slowly leaned forward.

"I am warning you now, pet!" he hissed. "If you tell the old man about his daughter…I will make you suffer greatly for it!"

"'e should know!"

"If he knew then he wouldn't do what I want him to!" Beckett growled. "And I swear to God if you tell him…I will ignore the fact that you're my pet and I will torture you before leaving you to Mercer! You know how much he hates you!"

Bowing his head sadly, Ragetti nodded.

…

"What do you think my daughter is doing now?" Weatherby asked him the next day after Beckett and his men had left for lunch.

Ragetti winced as if he had just been hit.

Noticing the flinch, Weatherby tilted his head to one side and frowned.

"Mackenzie, what's wrong?" he asked gently.

"Nuffin'…" he lied, looking away.

"Mackenzie, I can tell that you're lying to me." Weatherby sighed. "Now what's the matter, friend?"

Biting his lower lip, Ragetti desperately wanted to tell his new friend about his daughter's fate but when he turned to look at him, he found that he could not destroy the old man's hopes like that.

"I'm sure tha' Poppet an' Jack ar' jus' foine!" he said with a weak smile. "They ar' probably somewhere noice righ' naow." He added, believing this to be true when it came to Heaven.

"I hope so." Weatherby said with a smile. "I hope that they're planning some kind of comeback against Cutler and his army right this moment!"

Ragetti could only nod, guilt making his chest hurt.

Without a word, he began to play a slow and mournful song as Weatherby leaned back and imagined his daughter plotting some kind of grand scheme to defeat Beckett and his forces, unaware that she was long dead.


	12. Chapter 12

Ragetti knew something bad was going to happen when Beckett unchained him from his stool and ordered him to follow him with the harp.

He had never been allowed out of his office except for his daily bath, but this was early in the morning and Beckett was leading him outside and towards where the gallows were set up.

Ragetti stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the line of people in chains waiting behind the gallows and Beckett turned back to him with a sigh, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Just be glad that you're not one of them, pet!" he said, grabbing him roughly by his elbow and leading him to a small porch that rested just to the side of the gallows to give a better view of the people doing the jig at the end of the rope.

"Set your harp down over here." He ordered and Ragetti set his harp down in front of a cushioned chair, taking a seat slowly as he kept his eyes on the gallows and the first group of six to face it.

"I want you to play for me." Beckett ordered, sitting down so that he was facing away from the hangings about to take place.

But Ragetti could not play and he instead sat there and listened as Beckett's new laws were being read aloud, each new law followed by six people taking the final drop.

A soft moan escaped him as a large pile of bodies soon started to form and his eye started to water as more blood tears slid down his cheek.

"Play me something, pet." Beckett said, inspecting his nails now.

"Oh my God…" Ragetti whispered, spotting a young boy of no older than ten waiting in line to be hanged in the next line of six.

"God doesn't exist here." Beckett corrected him. "I am God."

"Why ar' ye doin' this?" Ragetti asked. "These people aint pirates!"

"And how do you know that?" Beckett asked, looking over at him and giving him a wicked smile. "That boy over there was a cabin boy on the ship Bloody Cutlass; a pirate ship!"

"Et's no' righ'! 'e's only a boy!" Ragetti said. "An' all o' these people…" He flinched as six more made the drop. "Ye can' really 'ang them all in 'un day!"

"Really? Watch me!" Beckett said, turning back around and lounging in his chair. "Now play me something, pet." He repeated.

Frowning, Ragetti almost got up and tried to strangle him, but he knew that that wouldn't solve anything since Mercer would then take command and make things even worse for everyone.

He couldn't do this alone and he knew what song he needed to play to try and get something to happen to end Beckett's slaughters once and for all.

There was an ancient pirate song that every pirate learns when they first take up the career, even though they never had to use it before. The song's purpose was to call for a meeting of the Brethren Court and even though Beckett currently held one of the Pieces of Eight, Ragetti prayed that the Pirate Lords would come together anyway to try and do something.

"I'm waiting for a song, pet!" Beckett snapped.

Narrowing his eyes, Ragetti quietly reached out and started to play the first bars of the song, the blood of one of the Pirate Lords who sealed Calypso away starting to burn in his veins.

"Yo, 'o 'aul tagetha, 'oist the colours 'igh." He began; his voice soft and gentle. "'eave 'o, thieves an' beggars, neva shall we die!"

The harp's music and Ragetti's singing caught the cabin boy's sharp ears and a small smile played on his lips as he looked up and saw Ragetti, recognizing him at once as a fellow pirate.

"Yo, Ho haul together, hoist the colours high." The boy started to sing. "Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die!

The King and his men stole the queen from her bed

and bound her in her bones.

The seas be ours and by the powers

Where we will…we'll roam!"

The soldiers hesitated when suddenly all of the prisoners raised their heads up high and proud, clanking their chains and stomping their feet together as they too joined with the cabin boy and Ragetti's harp.

"Yo, Ho haul together, hoist the colours high

Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never say we die!

Some men have died and some are alive

And others sail the sea

With the keys to the cage

And the Devil to pay

We lay to Fiddler's Green!"

"Sir!" one of the captains cried, running to Beckett's side at once, pausing for a moment to look at the singing Ragetti in confusion.

"What is it?" Beckett snapped. "You're interrupting the lovely song!"

The captain was flustered at the sudden reprimand and he could only look at him blankly as the song continued.

"Yo, Ho haul together, hoist the colours high

Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die.

The bell has been raised from its watery grave

Do you hear its sepulchral tone?

A Call to all, pay heed to the squall

And turn your sails toward home!"

Beckett was slowly starting to get annoyed that more people were not being killed and he calmly held up a hand and then lowered it, signaling for the executioner to hurry up and pull the lever.

"Yo, Ho haul together, hoist the colours high

Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die!"

Ragetti's fingers had started to bleed again as he started to play harder and with more feeling and just as the song ended, the lever was pulled and the cabin boy and the ones standing beside him were killed.

Standing up suddenly, Ragetti flicked his bloody fingers into Beckett's face, his blood making the man's eyes sting and his face hurt for some odd reason.

"Ye've go' the blood o' innocen' people on yer 'ands!" he growled, narrowing his eye. "An' ye will suffer fer et once the Cour' is assembled an' made ready again' ye! Then ye will know sufferin' a' their 'ands an' God's!"

Blinking rapidly to try and stop the burning, Beckett laughed and shook his head as he reached into his pocket.

Taking out Ragetti's wooden eye, he noted that it had begun to feel warm and almost vibrate with energy.

"And what good will the Brethren Court be without all nine Pieces of Eight?" he asked, arching one slender eyebrow. "Guards, take Master Ragetti away before he hurts himself some more. Lock him up in that cage I had made for the occasion."

Clenching his hands into fists, Ragetti did not resist as two soldiers came and took him by his arms, leading him away.

Beckett's smile faded once his slave was away, and he frowned as he wiped the blood off of his face, wondering what it meant when it burned his skin like that.


	13. Chapter 13

Ragetti was locked in the cage for a week.

It wasn't as bad as it could have been however, since he was finally away from Beckett and his constant demands for music and sex.

His cage was just big enough for him to be able to sit up with his legs crossed, but he could not lay down or stretch his legs out either. The cage was located in one of the empty rooms, away from everyone and everything as punishment for threatening his master like he had.

But Ragetti would not change what he had done for anything, and everyday when Norrington would come and visit him with some hidden food and drink, he would tell him so proudly, only to be answered with rolled eyes and a clucked tongue as the commodore gently chastised him for his behavior.

The two slowly started to build up a kind of friendship with each other and it was through Norrington that Ragetti learned all that the man knew about the goings on of the crew of the Black Pearl before he had run off with the heart.

It was also through Norrington that Ragetti learned that he and Pintel were considered some kind of heroes when it came to others who were forced to join the Navy and when he asked the man why, Norrington had shaken his head in confusion.

"You both served for only three years and in that time you became First Lieutenant and he became Head Gunner of the ship!" he explained. "In just three years and starting from the lowest of the low positions on a ship! It took me five years just to make it to Bo'sun when I first joined!"

"No' really a big deal." Ragetti said with a shrug of his thin shoulders. "I jus' did wot they said afore me an' Pinters were done wi' the whole Navy business."

"That's the one thing I never understood." Norrington said. "You two deserting the Navy like you did…why?"

Looking away, Ragetti gave the man another weak shrug.

"Et was toime ta leave an' become a pirate loik me da'." He answered.

"That can't be it. The stories say that you lost your eye to a pirate while defending a merchant ship."

"Aye, an' et were tha' day me an' Pinters decided ta leave the Navy." Ragetti added with a nod.

"But can you tell me why? You could have become captain in another year the way you two were going!"

Ragetti stared at the far wall, his face emotionless.

"I'm sorry if I'm pushing you into something you don't want to talk about." Norrington said gently.

"Nah, et's no' tha'." He said softly. "I was jus' finkin' abou' et." He assured him.

Looking back at Norrington, Ragetti gave him a small smile.

"Do ye really wan' ta know why?" he asked.

"It's been a mystery for years on why you two turned pirate." Norrington answered. "Everyone wants to know why!"

Laughing softly, Ragetti shook his head.

"Et started when we met up wi' the merchan' ship…"


	14. Chapter 14

"Master Ragetti! I need your opinion on something!"

"Righ' away, cap'n!"

The lanky First Lieutenant walked across the deck of the HMS Proud Tortoise, one hand smoothing down his small mustache. He was a gangly and awkward looking young man, but his fighting prowess and random knowledge had served to help his captain in the past and he easily rose to the rank of First Lieutenant; something that was unheard of for an Impressed member of the Navy. Then his friend Lee Ballard Pintel became Head Gunner because of his knowledge and deadly accuracy on the cannons and that made two Impressed sailors rising up in the world.

Ragetti had met Pintel a year after his mother's murder while he was wandering the streets of Tortuga on his own. The older boy had instantly taken a liking to Ragetti and he took him under his wing.

There had been rumors for a while after the two were given their new ranks that they were lovers and needed to be prosecuted for disorderly conduct, but their captain had quickly crushed it by saying that whatever happened behind closed doors was no one's business and that if he heard anything else about it, the accuser would be thrown overboard.

No charges were ever brought up against the two.

Looking to his left, Ragetti saw Pintel angrily berating a young man about the condition of his pistol and sword.

"'ow the bloody 'ell did ye git the gunpowder all wet?!" he was shouting. "An' yer blade 'as go' a bleedin' chip in et! Were ye bloody smashing et again' a rock?!"

Ragetti stopped and he softly chuckled at Pintel's rampage. He alone knew that Pintel was a good man, despite his rough exterior and he headed over, adjusting the black ribbon holding up his small ponytail before speaking up for the young man.

"Oy, Pint! Don' yell a' Royers so much! 'e an' 'is mate Toggs is still new ta et all!" he said, pointing over his shoulder at the other young man by the name of Murtogg who was currently mopping the deck.

"The bloody git 'as a feckin' chip in 'is sword!" Pintel argued, running a hand through fast thinning hair.

Smiling at his lover, Ragetti shook his head and gave a miserable looking Mullroy a friendly wink.

"Yer jus' mad because ye foun' more 'air this mornin' off o' yer 'ead, Pint." He said, making his older friend puff up like a rooster.

"Wot?!"

Mullroy stifled a laugh behind his hand as Ragetti just giggled and headed back to where the captain and the first mate were waiting for him.

"Ye wanted ta see me, cap'n?" he asked.

"When the captain calls you, you're supposed to come right away!" the first mate snapped. "We were waiting here while you were playing around with your lover and the new recruits!"

"Chase, do be quiet." Captain Montague laughed. "Master Ragetti was merely helping one of the new recruits learn how to deal with Master Pintel's rage problems. And as for the lovers comment…you out of everyone shouldn't say anything!"

Chase's cheeks turned a bright red and he was silent.

"I came as fas' as I could, cap'n." Ragetti said, touching the brim of his hat in respect. "Wot is the problem?"

"Besides your hideous accent and equally hideous teeth…" Chase muttered.

"Chase!" Montague warned.

"Me an' Pinters can' 'elp growin' up in Tortuga." Ragetti said, his blue eyes glittering dangerously. "An' we can' 'elp bein' kidnapped an' forced inta the Navy. I neva really loiked the Navy afta me mum were raped by some o' et's soldiers!"

Chase's face turned a brighter shade of red when Ragetti said this, and Montague smiled and nodded in approval at Ragetti's words.

"Well done, Master Ragetti!" he said. "Very well done!"

"Can we get on to business?" Chase demanded.

"Very well." Montague relented, taking out a telescope and holding it out to Ragetti. "What do you see when you look just to the northeast?"

Looking into the telescope, Ragetti spotted a small French merchant ship a bit away from them.

"Et's a French merchan' ship." He answered.

"Now look to the northwest."

He did so and he gasped softly as he slowly lowered the telescope.

A large ship was heading straight for the merchant ship, armed and ready for a battle with a smaller ship a little ways away from it. The colours flown were a mixture of Italian and pirate; the pirate design being the Italian flag with a large black eye painted in the center of it.

Ragetti knew the colours well, his mother had told him about his father many times and what kind of flag he used.

"What do you propose we do, Master Ragetti?" Montague asked. "The two ships have nothing to do with Britain, but we could easily try and help the French out with these Italians."

"Cap'n?" Ragetti asked in confusion. 

"Make a decision."

Ragetti hesitated, biting his lower lip as he looked down at the ground.

"Master Ragetti…"

"Defend et." He said suddenly. "Bu' don' worry abou' prisoners or e'en takin' the ship! Jus' chase the pirates away."

"It sounds like you want us to go easy on those pirates!" Chase accused, narrowing his eyes darkly.

"I agree with Master Ragetti's plan." Montague said suddenly.

"Sir!"

"Give the orders, Mackenzie. This battle is all yours to command."

For a moment he could only stare at his captain in surprise before he took it all in and then nodded with a smile, sweeping his hat off in a bow before turning around and putting it back on.

"All righ', lads! We need ta git this ship full speed ahead!" he roared. "We've go' some pirates wot need ta be taugh' a lesson!"

The soldiers started to act at once, following his orders a second after they were shouted.

"Pinters! Git those gunners primed an' ready fer their par'!" he shouted with a smile and with a quick salute Pintel was down below and instantly berating the men under him.

"All righ', ye bloody bunch o' red wearin' sons o' bitches!" he roared, ignoring his own red uniform. "Git those cannons armed an' ready afore I 'ave ye sho' ou' 'o 'em meself!"

"Steady on, lads!" Ragetti was ordering the men on the deck. "Keep yer muskets a' the ready fer me signal! An' when I lower me 'and, ye drop down the bridge an' cross o'er! Rememba, don' worry abou' takin' prisoners or killin' as many pirates as ye kin! Jus' 'elp defend those French bastar's wot go' themselves inta this mess!"

Looking over to his left, Ragetti noted that Murtogg's hands were shaking and he sighed as he walked over to him and put an arm around his shoulders.

"Nervous?"

"A…A little bit actually…" he admitted.

Giving him a warm smile, Ragetti gave him a wink.

"Don' be, Toggs!" he said. "I'll make sure yer back on this ship righ' as rain wi' all yer pieces in the righ' spo'! No' e'en a speck o' dus' will git in yer eyes!" he promised.

Once they were in range, Ragetti promptly covered his ears with his hands.

A second or two later, the cannons went off and the battle started.


	15. Chapter 15

Leonardo Ragetti had woken up in a foul mood that day and it was becoming fouler as the sudden arrival of the red coats started to shift the battle from an easy slaughter to an actual fair fight where the man could lose and be forced to retreat with a reduced crew.

With the way that his luck was going, it would probably be just the non-Italian members of his crew that lived.

He was an imposing figure despite his gaunt and somewhat awkward looking appearance. He wore fire red garments that were loose about him, making him stand out easily mixed with his long golden hair. He was very vain when it came to his hair and he in fact had it braided with ribbons of scarlet and orange, taking them out at night and brushing his hair methodically to keep it soft and silky.

It was this awkward need to comb his hair that made his crew worry about his ability to not only be a captain, but also a Pirate Lord.

Like now for instance; he had promised them an easy slaughter to end the day and now they were fighting for their lives against the British Navy!

Frowning, Leonardo slowly drew his saber as he headed for the leader of the red coats; his hair blowing behind him and making him look insane as his green eyes glittered with rage.

Gritting his teeth, Ragetti found himself being forced into a corner by two pirates coming at him at one time. They both swung large axes and as he took another step back, he tripped and fell onto his back, wincing as a booted foot closed down on his hand to stop him from picking up his sword.

"Arrivederci!" one of them growled, raising the axe up high.

Ragetti shut his eyes tightly and when the blow never came, he opened his eyes in surprise as Pintel barreled into both men like an animal, throwing one of them overboard before focusing on the other one.

"Son o' a bitch Italian feck!" he growled. He then paused and glanced over at Ragetti.

"No offense, Rags."

"None taken, Pint!" he laughed, but he then winced and got to his feet as the axe was swung and dealt Pintel a wound on his head.

"Pinters!" he shouted and he was about to run to help him when a saber was placed in front of him.

"Ye an' yer men ar' getting on me nerves!" Leonardo growled.

Narrowing his eyes, Ragetti remembered what his mother had said about his father's love for the color red and his golden hair and he instantly knew that this was him.

"Jus' call off yer men an' git back on yer ship!" he offered him. "We don' wan' ta take yer or yer ship!"

"I'll order me men to leave after yer dead!"

Sparks began to fly as the two blades clashed violently against each other as father and son began to fight. The two were evenly matched in style and it looked almost as if the two of them were merely dancing; a few flips used to dodge a low swing and an occasional sword exchange happened more than once.

The other battles came to a halt as the two soon danced into the middle of the deck and it was silently agreed upon that whoever won this small duel would win the entire battle.

"Come on, Rags!" Pintel shouted. "'e's go' feckin' ribbons in 'is 'air loik a girl fer God's sake!"

Curling his lip, Leonardo pressed in and locked their blades together so that the two of them were face to face now.

"Rags?" he asked.

"Et's me nickname!"

"Why? Because yer like a bunch o' rags with bones attached?" he scoffed as they broke the lock and paused for a moment, slowly circling around each other.

"Et's from me las' name!" Ragetti countered calmly, taking off his hat and letting his hair loose. The ends naturally curled up and framed his angular face, and Leonardo was shocked at the likeness to himself.

"Me name is Mackenzie Giovanni Ragetti!"

The Pirate Lord's eyes grew wide as he slowly lowered his blade.

"Do ye no' know me, fatha?" he asked.

"Eliza's boy?"

"Aye." Ragetti nodded and a smile came to Leonardo's lips as he sheathed his own blade, letting his men know that he was giving up this battle.

"How is..?"

The question was cut short as Ragetti's right eye seemed to just burst forth in an explosion of vitreous jelly and blood.

"Filthy traitor!" Chase growled, his pistol still held out and smoking. "I knew he was a bloody pirate sympathizer!"

Leonardo stared down at Ragetti's body in horror, his throat clenching and making him unable to speak as suddenly the one who had shot him ordered the soldiers to slaughter the pirates.

Murtogg and Mullroy were both forced to jump on top of Pintel, trying their best to calm the man down and stop him from killing Chase.

"Captain! What are yer orders?!" his first mate shouted. He was a young man by the name of Hector Barbossa, his beard not yet fully grown and his head only adorned with a bandanna.

"Get back to the ship!" Leonardo ordered, heading for it at once, unable to look back at the crumpled body any longer.

As the pirates retreated, Chase tried to force the rest of the soldiers to give chase and kill them, but they refused. Ragetti had been the one in charge of this mission and he had ordered them to just chase them away. Grinding his teeth in annoyance, Chase finally relented and allowed the wounded and dead to be moved back onto the Proud Tortoise.

When Pintel's rage finally subsided, he ran to Ragetti's side and he smiled a little when he saw that he was still alive.

"Come on, Rags! The doctor should…"

"Throw him overboard."

"Wot?!" Pintel shouted in disbelief, whirling around.

Chase's eyes were cold and emotionless.

"He is a traitor and a pirate sympathizer." He said. "Throw him overboard."

"Ye bloody…!"

"Now, Master Pintel."

A soft whimper from Ragetti made him look down and he saw him looking up with his one good eye, fear plainly seen.

"Pint…"

"Don' worry." He assured him gently, kneeling down and picking him up carefully, cradling him in his arms. "I aint throwin' ye o'er the soide!" he swore.

"We're all waiting!" Chase snapped from behind.

"Rags, is tha' man really yer da'?"

"Aye…"

"Good!"

Turning around, Pintel suddenly charged for the side of the ship and with a sudden burst of speed, he leapt over the side and miraculously landed on the pirate's ship just as it began to turn away.

"Tol' ye I wasn' gittin' ta fat!" he smiled down at Ragetti as the two were faced with weapons drawn and ready for blood.

"Lower yer weapons!" Barbossa snapped, coming out of Leonardo's cabin. "Ye daft bastards! Were none of you listening to what the captain and that one were talking about?! Get those two to the doctor!"

Once they were inside and being tended to, Barbossa waited a few minutes before entering the cabin once more and found Leonardo with his ribbons out of his hair, a large bottle of rum in one hand.

"What?" he snapped.

"We have two guests, captain."

"Leave me alone…"

"One of them is missing an eye."

Leonardo turned to look at him in disbelief.

"His fat friend apparently isn't as out of shape as you would think by looking at him."

"Where is mio figlio now?" Leonardo asked, getting up at once.

"He's with the doctor but…"

Leonardo was out of the cabin at once, heading for the doctor's room.

He found the doctor washing off some blood from his hands outside and he pulled him close at once.

"How is he?"

"'e'll live, bu' 'e'll also 'ave a 'ole in 'is face." The doctor warned. "I 'ad ta git rid o' everyfing inside the eye socket ta preven' infection."

"An eye is nothing. Calix only had the one eye and used a wooden one for the hole in his own head." He said and the doctor nodded in understanding.

"There's somethin' else." He added softly.

"What?"

"'is mind migh' be…a liddle slow fer a while." He warned. "Trauma loik tha' kin mess up a man's mind an' all."

"Can I see him?"

"If 'is frien' let's yer." The doctor shrugged.

Opening the door, Leonardo saw that Ragetti was sleeping, a bandage tightly wrapped around his eyes with blood on the one side. Pintel was sitting next to him and holding his hand, talking to him softly.

Pintel turned around when the captain cleared his throat, expecting to be given his death sentence.

"Welcome aboard, matey." Leonardo said.

…

"Me 'ead…I was a liddle off afta tha' fer years." Ragetti continued with a shrug. "Bu' me da' didn' le' any o' the crew make fun o' me fer et either!"

"I'm…amazed that you can even remember what happened to you!" Norrington said.

"I didn' really rememba much until we go' ta Por' Royal the firs' toime an' took Poppet wi' us." Ragetti admitted. "Afta tha'…I started ta rememba a bit more abou' meself an' me pas' ye see. The larges' chunk came while we was in jail waitin' ta 'ang." He added.

"I recalled 'ow when me da' stepped down from bein' Pirate Lord, 'e gave the title ta Barbossa because I was still…odd. Bu' e'en then, Barbossa wasn' tha' bad ta me. 'e made me the Bearer o' the Piece o' Eigh' in 'onor o' me bloodline…"

"Beckett told me about the ceremony that went on with nine pieces of eight." Norrington said with a soft snort. "The man must think I'm like him or something…"

"Ye did say tha' ye were goin' ta 'ang us all an' 'ave our 'eads on pikes." Ragetti reminded him gently.

"That…That was before I learned more about people." Ragetti shrugged and just smiled.

"Jus' so."

"One more question?"

"I aint goin' anywheres."

"Why did you flick blood in his face like that?"

Ragetti looked down at his scarred fingertips, thinking quietly.

"I am the las' o' the line o' Calix 'Un Eye." He said finally. "'e were no' only 'un o' those who 'elped seal Calypso in 'er 'uman form, bu' 'e is also the reason why she angered Davy Jones. 'e 'ad laid down wi' 'er the day she were supposed ta be wi' Davy, an' tha' is why 'e refuses ta do wot 'e was supposed ta!

"Beckett is messin' wi' fings 'e shouldn' be an' in the end 'e is goin' ta pay fer et by me own 'ands fer wot 'e 'as done. Ou' o' all the Pirate Lords…Mistress Ching is the only 'un who is still a direct descendant from an original Lord."

"Mistress…Ching?"

"She rules the Pacific Ocean." He answered with a small smile.

He opened his mouth to explain further but he was interrupted when Murtogg and Mullroy suddenly came in.

"Lord Beckett is leaving Port Royal." Murtogg said. "He's taking all of his things with him as well and…"

"And I'm afraid that that includes you, Master Ragetti." Mullroy finished.

Smiling at the two of them, Ragetti shrugged.

"Et's all righ'." He assured them, giving a wink. "'e's goin' on the ocean…An' tha's pirate territory."


	16. Chapter 16

Somehow, Ragetti knew that Beckett's cabin would look just like his office back in Port Royal. The only difference between the two was that Ragetti's window to the outside world was now much smaller.

Beckett's armada was joined by the Flying Dutchman a week after going out to sea and   
Ragetti let out a sigh of relief when Mercer and half of Beckett's men were placed on the Flying Dutchman to watch over the heart.

Murtogg, Mullroy, Norrington, and Weatherby were all kept on Beckett's ship and with Ragetti the group schemed as best as they could behind Beckett's back.

Lazzaro was finally with him after Murtogg and Mullroy insisted on taking the dog with them and he knew that they had taken good care of him. He was plump and well fed, his shaggy fur looking clean and healthy.

Becket kept the dog on a leash connected to Ragetti's stool and he watched in mild interest as the dog and pirate showed how much they missed each other with hugs and kisses alike.

"Lovely." He huffed. "You love that mangy mutt more than me."

Beckett had played this kind of game before and Ragetti knew how to answer him.

"I love ye, masta." He promised.

"More than the dog?"

"Aye."

"More than Pintel?"

Ragetti's throat tightened at the very idea of it.

"I…"

"Why do you hesitate!?"

"Masta…"

Ragetti's head snapped to one side as Beckett struck him and Lazzaro softly growled and bared his teeth at him.

"Shut that damned dog up!" Beckett snarled. "Or I'll kill it!"

"Please!" Ragetti begged. "Stop et, masta! Ye don' need ta keep askin' me do I loves yer! Ye all ready know I do!"

"What do you love about me?"

"Ye…Ye've go' a certain…je ne sais quoi." He said finally.

"Je ne sais quoi?" Beckett asked. He laughed and shook his head as he thought it over. "Je ne sais quoi…I like that!"

Closing his eye, Ragetti held back a shudder of disgust as Beckett kissed his lips and then slowly trailed kisses down the side of his neck, taking a bite from his collarbone.

He opened his eye slowly when he heard Lazzaro's claws click on the ground and he shook his head slightly in warning, looking at the dog pleadingly not to do anything.

Whining softly, Lazzaro laid down and covered his eyes with his paws.


	17. Chapter 17

Ragetti's eye grew wide in disbelief as Norrington told him about the special guest that Beckett was currently making a deal with outside.

"Is this Sao Feng a Pirate Lord?" Norrington asked when he saw the look on Ragetti's face of pure disbelief.

"Aye." Ragetti nodded. "Bu' ar' ye sure abou' their deal?"

"I'm positive."

Frowning at this, Ragetti looked down at the ground.

"Jack Sparrow was killed by the kraken but Barbossa and some woman named Tia Dalma…"

"Barbossa an' Tia Dalma!?"

"What is it?"

"Nuffin'…This is jus' gittin' really complicated righ' naow." Ragetti said with a sigh. "Continue."

"Barbossa and this Tia woman have the crew of the Black Pearl with Will and they plan on getting Jack back from Davy's Locker so that they can hold the Court. Sao Feng plans on helping Beckett slaughter everyone once they are at the Court's meeting place."

"I need me bloody eye back!" Ragetti growled, plucking a harp string in annoyance. "If I 'ad me eye…we could steal a ship an' git ou' o' 'ere!"

"But until we can find your eye and get a ship, we all have to stay here and lay low." Norrington said. "Speaking of laying low…I need to leave before they come in here."

"I'll tell ye wot they talk abou' lata, Commodore." Ragetti promised as he turned back to his harp and started to play an old pirate song as Norrington left him alone with Lazzaro.

The dog lifted up his head slowly, and with a soft whine he licked Ragetti's bare ankle.

Smiling down at him gently, Ragetti stroked his head and scratched behind his ears.

"Don' worry, Lazzaro." He whispered. "We're goin' ta be foine!"

Sao Feng and Beckett came in a little while later, laughing like old friends. Sao Feng caught Ragetti's eye and he stopped laughing at once, his face losing color.

"Do you like my pet?" Beckett asked. "He's very good at playing the harp, and his lips are the softest around." He said bluntly.

"He is also one of the last two blood descendants of two original Pirate Lords." Sao Feng said. "Mistress Ching is the other."

"Fascinating." Beckett said in a bored voice. "Now about the Pearl…"

Ragetti bit his tongue as the two continued to plot against the Pearl. Sao Feng was to stay with the Black Pearl and her crew all the way to Shipwreck Cove, giving Beckett some kind of sign along the way of where they were headed. In return, after all of the pirates had been slaughtered he would receive the Black Pearl and four of the Pieces of Eight.

"But why do you want them anyway?" Beckett asked. "Are you actually planning on crossing me and freeing Calypso?"

Catching Ragetti's warning look, Sao Feng shook his head.

"Of course not! You would need all nine to be able to do that! But with four of them, I can lay claim to those four bodies of water that they represent!" he said, clearly telling only half the truth. "You of course would have five of them and be the clear owner of those five bodies of water."

Beckett looked him in the eyes for a full minute before he then nodded and gave him a faint smile.

"Very well then." He said with a nod. "You shall have four of the Pieces of Eight."

"And the Black Pearl." Sao Feng added.

"Yes." Beckett agreed, rolling his eyes. "Now if you will excuse me, I shall have Governor Weatherby taken out of his room so that he may sign some documents for us to make this official…"

He was gone then, the door clicking shut behind him.

"Ye backstabbin'..!" Ragetti started, curling his lip in anger.

"Is there anywhere you can hide something from him?" Sao Feng asked suddenly, taking off his necklace that carried his own Piece of Eight.

Ragetti blinked in surprise at the sudden request.

"Wot?"

"Is there any place you can hide something from him?" Sao Feng repeated.

Frowning, Ragetti looked away for a moment before he then weakly nodded.

"Aye…"

"Then take this and keep it safe!" Sao Feng insisted, pressing his necklace into Ragetti's hand.

"Wot ar ye..?"

"Did you really think that a Pirate Lord would betray the Court for one ship and some of the Pieces? Only you and Mistress Ching can unleash their powers anyway! And if you plan on escaping from this ship then you'll need both the power of the waves as well as the winds!"

Ragetti slipped the necklace into his pocket and he nodded at this.

"As soon as I kin find me eye…Me mates an' I plan on takin' a ship an' gittin' ou' o' 'ere ta the Cour'." He nodded.

"Good. I'm going to lead Beckett in the wrong direction and I don't know for how long I can keep him going until he finds out the truth and kills me." Sao Feng said.

"Sao…"

"You two seem to be having a nice chat." Beckett noted, Weatherby in tow behind him as he opened the door. "Mind letting me know what it's about?"

"He was accusing me of being a coward." Sao Feng said, giving Ragetti a stern look suddenly. "I was merely explaining that I was smarter than most when it came to choosing the winning side of the war!"

"Exactly." Beckett said with a smile and he missed it when Ragetti silently slipped the necklace into Weatherby's pocket, his thin fingers moving swiftly before going back to playing the harp as if nothing had happened.

Weatherby promptly placed a handkerchief over the necklace in his pocket and it was kept hidden in plain sight the entire time.


	18. Chapter 18

"Why is this important?" Weatherby asked, looking at the seemingly random object in his hand. "It just looks like a piece of rubbish to me!"

"The firs' Lords were dirt poor when they sealed Calypso away." Ragetti explained. "Tha' piece o' rubbish is a Piece o' Eight!"

Beckett was starting to spend less time with Ragetti and more time on the deck of his ship; leaving Ragetti time to plot and plan with the others behind his back easily.

They were all standing around him now as Weatherby handed back the Piece of Eight Sao Feng had given him.

"Et's goin' ta 'elp us git ou' o' 'ere." He added with a smile.

"How can it do that?" Murtogg asked.

Smiling, Ragetti held it up and watched as a dark blue light from within glittered on its surface; the Piece reacting to his bloodline.

"Each Piece 'olds some o' Calypso's power." He explained to them softly. "Me wooden eye controls the wind o' the sea an' this 'olds the power o'er its waves."

"Magic!" Mullroy whispered in awe.

"Aye, a deep an' old magic tied ta blood. Loik the curse I was under from the Aztec gold. Only two people in the whole world kin use the Piece's magic."

"And you are one of them?" Norrington asked.

"Aye, an' Mistress Ching is the other."

"You talk a lot about this Ching woman." Norrington observed.

"She's a nice lady." Ragetti said with a shrug. "She's blind an' real mean ta those who fink she's weak because o' et, bu' she were always kind ta me because I always pulled ou' 'er chair when she came ta visit me da'."

"So what you're basically saying is that right now you could control the waves with that?" Weatherby asked. "And if you had your wooden eye, you could control the winds?"

"Aye." Ragetti said with a smile and a wink.

"Then all we need is your eye and we could easily get out of here." Norrington said with a smile as he looked over at Mullroy.

"Murtogg and I have been talking to some of the soldiers on the Snarling Hound." The man explained. "They're tired of Beckett's laws and cruel punishments and they're willing to kill their captain and take us where we need to go."

"Do ye fink they would be willin' ta go tomorrow nigh'?"

"That soon?!" Weatherby asked in surprise.

"I kin make a distraction wi' this." Ragetti explained. "Some violent waves should be enough!"

"But we still need to find you eye." Murtogg pointed out.

"I know." He sighed, taking out his glass eye and rubbing the hole. "I 'ate this bloody fing!" he muttered.

"We'll find it during the chaos!" Weatherby said with a confident smile. "My word! This is all so exciting! I can almost hear Elizabeth's voice now! Asking how on Earth we pulled it off!"

Ragetti gave him a weak smile, guilt starting to eat at him.

He never told Weatherby about Elizabeth's death.

They left soon afterwards, going one at a time in intervals to try and avoid suspicion.

Weatherby was the last one to head out.

"Weatherby! Kin ye wait a liddle while longer?" Ragetti asked.

"Of course. What's wrong?"

"Et…Et's somefing ye need ta know…"


	19. Chapter 19

Weatherby stared at Ragetti in disbelief when he was finished telling him what Beckett had said about Elizabeth's death at the tentacles of the kraken.

"I'm…I'm sorry." Ragetti said softly, bowing his head.

"How long have you known my daughter was dead?"

"…Months."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" the old man nearly shouted, held back only because Beckett might hear and come in.

"I didn'…"

"Didn't what? Want to upset me!? You didn't think that me finding out now would also upset me!?"

"Please…"

"Elizabeth's dead." Weatherby's anger slowly turned back to one of sorrow as he fell heavily into a chair, holding his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry fer no' tellin' ye sooner." Ragetti said. "Bu' Beckett threatened ta kill ye if ye knew."

"I wish I was dead."

"Don' say tha'! I'm sure yer daughter would be crushed 'earin' ye say somefing like tha'!" Ragetti protested.

Weatherby was silent as he stared at the ground and Ragetti just watched him, fearing that the man might try to take his own life now.

"Weatherby?"

"We're going to get out of here." He said suddenly, getting to his feet. "One way or another."

As the man got up and left, Ragetti saw that his eyes were determined about something, but he did not ask him what it was.

Whatever it was, it had better help them get off this damned ship.


	20. Chapter 20

"Masta, where is me wooden eye?"

It was in the morning while Beckett was going over his charts when Ragetti ventured to ask him the normally forbidden question.

"Why are you asking me this, pet?" Beckett asked, keeping his eyes on his charts to try and control his temper.

Ragetti took out his glass eye and rubbed the hole, wincing a bit at the pain it caused.

"Et's this glass 'un…"

"What's wrong with the gift that I paid for with my own money, pet?" Beckett demanded, looking up at him now. His entire body was relaxed and calm, but his eyes told a different story as they burned with anger.

"Et…Et's 'urtin' me 'ead." Ragetti said softly, looking away from him as he got up and started walking towards him.

Beckett snatched the eye out of his hand and he looked it over, narrowing his eyes when he noticed a small crack in it.

"How did you crack this, pet?" he asked. "It's supposed to stay in your head at all times!"

"No' all the toime…"

"What do you mean not all the time?"

"I only took et ou' when I wen' ta sleep, masta." Ragetti explained softly. "Ye told me ta do tha'!"

"I never told you to crack it!"

Ragetti winced and braced himself for a blow. Instead, something familiar was popped into his eye socket and he opened his eye in surprise.

"I suppose your old one will do for now." Beckett muttered. "At least until the glass one is fixed."

"Fank ye, masta." Ragetti said happily, lightly touching the wooden eye.

"How grateful are you?"

"Hmm?"

Beckett's hand slowly slid down to rest just above his own crotch and Ragetti whimpered.

"Et's the mornin'…" he said.

"Would you prefer that I use the eye socket?"

Shuddering at the very idea, Ragetti shook his head.

"I thought not."

…

After Beckett had left to take care of business on deck, a laugh escaped from Ragetti as he took out Sao Feng's Piece from his pocket.

The two Pieces began to glitter; reacting to each other and his own blood.

"Tha' was feckin' easy!" he giggled, looking down at Lazzaro with a smile. "Ye know wot ta do, mate!"

Lazzaro chewed through his leash with gusto, growling in excitement as his tail was soon nothing but a blur of excitement. Once it was broken, Lazzaro licked Ragetti's face happily and almost knocked him over.

"Calm down!" Ragetti laughed, gently pushing him away. "Git goin' or ye'll ruin the whole plan!"

With a bark, Lazzaro ran off and nosed open the door.

Smiling, Ragetti gently took the wooden eye out of his socket again, and he caressed it lovingly.

"I missed ye."

…

It only took a few minutes for Lazzaro's presence to be known on the deck of the ship and only seconds afterwards for Beckett to hand down his sentence.

"Shoot it."

This was Murtogg and Mullroy's cue and the two promptly began to protest about this. Their protest soon turned into an argument between each other and Beckett was soon forced to watch as the two argued over whether or not a dog born in a British colony was a British citizen or not.

"I'm surrounded by idiots." He sighed as random gun shots rang out after Lazzaro's fleeing form.

Norrington stepped in once he saw that Beckett was completely distracted by Mullroy and Murtogg.

"Sir, I need the keys." He said.

Beckett was too busy trying to handle the argument to ask why Norrington needed the keys and he handed them over without a second glance.

Norrington went straight to Weatherby's quarters and he knocked three times on the door before unlocking it; letting him know that the plan was moving smoothly before he then went to Ragetti's room.

"I knew et." Ragetti said with a smile.

"I can't believe this is working." Norrington laughed, taking off Ragetti's shackle.

"Aye, an' et's abou' ta git betta!" the lanky man promised as he held the Pieces in his hands tightly.

…

Outside, the waves began to get choppy and the wind suddenly died away. Beckett did not take notice until a large wave suddenly struck down one of his ships; tearing it completely in half.

"What the bloody..?"

The winds came to life and soldiers were thrown overboard as the ships were spun around and driven off course.

The only ship not affected by the waves or the winds was the Flying Dutchman and Davy Jones laughed; throwing his head back and snapping his crab claw.

He could sense the power of the Pieces being used and he knew that Beckett was in trouble.

"Start killing those soldiers." He said to Koleniko. Even if he was stopped before getting his heart back, at least he would lower the ratio between his own crew and Mercer's soldiers.

…

The HMS Snarling Hound was pushed up against Beckett's ship, making the wood creak and crack dangerously.

Lazzaro hopped over onto the Snarling Hound and this was a signal to the crew to open fire on Beckett's men.

A gunfight between the two ships ensued and Beckett was furious and was soon heading for the fight himself.

"Bloody rebel forces!

…

Slowly, Weatherby opened his door and he headed for Beckett's cabin, easily dodging the bullets as he stepped inside and found everyone waiting for him.

Ragetti was staring into space, his eye glowing brightly as he concentrated on what he had to do.

"The gun fight is heavier than we thought." Weatherby said. "How are we going to get onto the Snarling Hound now?"

Norrington thought for a moment before he then looked over at Ragetti and he smiled and drew his pistol.

"I've got an idea." He said, pressing the pistol to Ragetti's temple.

"Are you bloody insane!?" Mullroy cried out.

The winds and the waves slowly died down as Ragetti's eye changed back to normal.

"I'm 'is mos' prized toy." He said. "This should work. 'e almos' shat 'imself when Poppet was goin' ta kill me."

…

"Kill those traitors now!" Beckett shouted, drawing his sword and pointing at the crew of the Snarling Hound, mindful to keep himself clear of any real danger.

"Sir?"

"I want them all dead!"

"Sir!"

"I swear if any of them survive…"

"Sir!!"

"What!?" Beckett snarled, turning on Greitzer sharply. The color in his face drained away when he saw what the man was pointing at and his sword fell clattering to the ground.

Norrington and the two idiot soldiers were holding Weatherby and Ragetti at gunpoint.

His toy was in danger of being killed right in front of him!

"Cease fire!" he screamed, losing his composure.

Both sides held their fire; the crew of the Snarling Hound smiling faintly.

"We're getting on that ship and leaving, _Lord_ Beckett." Norrington said, pulling Ragetti in close to look as if he truly meant to kill him. "And these two are coming with us to make sure you don't try anything!"

"Give me back my pet!" Beckett pleaded. "You can't take him for good!"

"We'll let them off in a rowboat if you want, but only after you show that you won't follow us!" Norrington offered.

"Sir, this is a tri…" Lieutenant Greitzer started.

"Done! But if you harm him or his hands I will hunt you down and have Mercer gut you and cook your innards before making you eat them!" Beckett snarled.

"Agreed!"

The party boarded the Snarling Hound then and Ragetti closed his eye, hiding the glow that occurred as a sudden gust of wind and a large wave separated the two ships as if by magic, sending the Snarling Hound miles away in just a few moments.

Once they were out of sight, a cheer rang out as hats were thrown into the air and Beckett's uniforms were removed and tossed over the side, leaving the soldiers to wearing civilian clothing.

"Next stop, the Brethren Court!" Ragetti laughed, turning to Norrington with a glad smile. He blinked and looked at the man in surprise as the commodore suddenly swept off his hat and placed it on Ragetti's head.

"Wot?"

"Lead the way…captain."

"It's almost like when we were on the Proud Tortoise again!" Murtogg said with a smile. "Only you're captain instead of First Lieutenant this time!"

Blushing, Ragetti hid his face under the hat.

"Bloody makin' me ears burn ye ar'!"

…

That night, Beckett stayed on the deck of the ship, keeping look out for the rowboat Norrington had promised to send with the governor and his pet in it.

He had not slept since the sudden escape and he had in fact hanged several men for allowing Norrington to take his precious slave away.

"There it is!" he shouted, pointing excitedly at a small boat coming towards them.

It was completely devoid of human life when the soldiers brought it aboard and when Greitzer handed Beckett the only thing that was inside, he screamed into the night sky.

The figurine of Ragetti lay broken in his hand; showing that he was no longer the man's toy.


	21. Chapter 21

The Snarling Hound was renamed The Pintel and everyone agreed that Ragetti seemed to have a natural talent for leading people, although he was still shy about it all, often asking if people would do something instead of just telling them to do it.

The British flag had been taken down and replaced with a simple black flag. Ragetti had explained that since he wasn't a recognized captain in the eyes of the Brethren Court, he was not allowed to make up his own colours for the ship.

The fact that he held and could use two of the Pieces of Eight was also a bonus when it came to how everyone felt about his leading skills. The Pintel could have easily outraced any other ship out there as it seemed to just barely touch the water, propelled by both the winds and the waves that Ragetti now controlled.

They spanned miles of ocean in mere days when it would have taken anyone else weeks and when Ragetti announced one morning that they would be at Shipwreck Cove in the afternoon of the next day, cheers went up and his cheeks burned a bright red as Norrington clapped him on the back.

"Good work, captain."

"Don' call me tha'." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his head shyly. "I aint a cap'n o' nuffin' unless the Cour' says I am."

"Well when we get there I'll put in a good word for you." He offered with a wink.

"'onestly? I fink tha' ye an' the others should keep a low…a low?"

"Profile?" Norrington offered.

"Aye, tha's the word! The pirates o' Shipwreck Cove won' fink twice afore shootin' ye; e'en wi' me there ta back yer up!"

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it." Norrington assured him as he handed him a bottle of rum.

Ragetti looked at the bottle in surprise, cocking an eyebrow.

"I though' tha' Beckett banned rum?"

"This crew always saw his laws as more guidelines than actual rules." Norrington explained with a laugh.

Giggling softly at the familiar phrase often used by Gibbs, Ragetti took a swig before announcing that today would be a day of rest for everyone.

…

It was during the night celebration that Ragetti noticed Weatherby's strange behavior. The former governor was standing off to the side and leaning on the railing, staring out into the night sky with a blank expression on his face.

Watching him for a while, Ragetti noted the look on his face and he instantly recognized it for what it was. Walking up behind him quietly, Ragetti rested a hand on his shoulder as he stepped up to stand beside him.

"I always though' ye were goin' ta kill yerself afore we go' away, no' afta." He said softly, mindful to make sure that no one else heard him.

"When my wife died, the only thing keeping me here was our daughter." Weatherby said. "I tried my best…"

"She came ou' jus' foine, sir." Ragetti assured him.

"Sir?" Weatherby asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yer still a noble."

"But so are you through your mother." He pointed out, and Ragetti was forced to shrug as he turned around and leaned his back up against the railing. Looking up at the sky, he identified a few constellations before speaking up again.

"Ar' ye really goin' ta kill yerself?"

"Are you going to try and stop me?"

"Et's no' me life ta mess wi'." He said. "Bu' I'll pray fer yer."

"I believe tha Bible has a few choice words for people who commit suicide."

"Loik wot?" Ragetti asked, looking puzzled.

"Like how if you kill yourself you go to Hell."

Jesus neva said tha'!"

"It's in the Old Testament."

"Tha' Ole Testamen' is full o' shite!" Ragetti snorted. "Et's jus' full o' God killin' people fer pissing 'im off an' 'e e'en punishes their children! An' wot was wrong wi' wot me an' Pinters did? We loved each other! Et's…et jus' don' e'en gi' people the option o' mercy."

"Is that why you like the New Testament? Because of all of the mercy and forgiveness in it?"

Ragetti rubbed his eye then, trying to play it off as just some annoying splinters and not tears burning at the still intact tear ducts.

"Jesus ga' a thief mercy righ' afore 'e died because 'e said 'e were sorry." He explained softly. "I figger 'e could do the same fer me so I kin git ta Fiddler's Green. An'…"

He hesitated then, looking down at the ground.

"An' I 'ope 'e le' Pintel inta Fiddler's Green."

"I'm sure he did." Weatherby promised gently.

"An' I'm sure tha' if ye kill yerself tha' 'e'll le' ye go ta yer daughter." Ragetti said with a small smile.

"Thank you, Ragetti."

Smiling, Ragetti nodded and he left to give Weatherby his privacy.

That night, he dreamt about Pintel greeting him at the tavern in Fiddler's Green and he wept and smiled in his sleep.

…

The next morning, it was discovered that Weatherby was missing.

They searched high and low for him but Ragetti knew that he would not be found and he mentally offered up a prayer for his soul.

The black flag was flown at half mast all the way to Shipwreck Cove.


	22. Chapter 22

"Mistress Ching is still no' 'ere bu' the res' ar'." Ragetti noted as they slid The Pintel into the underground port that connected to the pirate fortress Shipwreck Cove. He counted six ships docked and counted the Pearl twice for Jack and Barbossa.

He also counted fifty pirates waiting for them to come down the gangplank to prove that they belonged here; ready to kill them if they did not.

"I only count six ships." Norrington said with a frown. "If Ching is the only one missing there should be…"

"Sao Feng is dead." Ragetti explained. "This mornin' 'is Piece turned as black as nigh'."

"Damn…"

"Maybe no'." Ragetti assured him, looking over their welcome party once more. "Stay 'ere wi' the res' o' the crew. Toggs an' Royers ar' comin' wi' me ta act as me guard."

"Do you think something bad will happen to you?"

"Wi' wot I'm abou' ta sugges'? Aye!"

Norrington thought about this for a moment before he then nodded to himself and drew his sword. Flipping it over, he offered it to him hilt first.

"You'll need this."

Smiling, Ragetti took the blade and slipped it into his red sash.

"Fanks."

…

"I don't think this is how a pirate dresses…"

"Of course it is!" Murtogg said. "Look at how Ragetti dresses!"

Looking down at his clothes, Mullroy highly doubted that Murtogg knew what he was talking about. Their clothes were all a jumble of mismatched rags, headbands, sashes, and belts and Murtogg was even sporting an eye patch over his left eye.

"Toggs, I don't think…"

"Arrr! Ye've got ta talk loik a pirate, matey!" Murtogg said, putting a little swagger in his stance.

Looking over Murtogg's shoulder, Mullroy's cheeks burned a deep red.

"Toggs…"

"Arrr! Ye scurvy dog! Talk loik a pirate!"

"Toggs!"

"Aye?"

"Look behind you!"

Frowning, Murtogg did so and he flinched and took a step back.

Ragetti was standing behind him, his thin arms crossed over his chest.

"Talk loik a pirate? Wot do ye fink et is? Somefing ye kin jus' learn in 'un day?" Ragetti asked.

Murtogg snapped to attention as Ragetti slowly stepped forward, lightly pushing his hat up to look him in the eyes.

"Do ye fink losin' an' eye is funny, Toggs?"

"Nuh…No, sir!"

"Do ye know 'ow much et 'urts 'avin' yer eye sho' ou' o' yer 'ead?"

"No, sir."

"Take tha' bloody eye patch off then!"

The eye patch was snatched off and Mullroy held his breath and quietly said a prayer for Murtogg as Ragetti looked at him with almost murderous intent.

Mullroy finally allowed himself to breathe when Ragetti laughed and shook his head, pocketing the eye patch.

"Jus' don' say anyfing an' ye'll be all righ'." He assured the two of them. "Naow come on afore tha' group o' well wishers decides ta' set the ship on fire."

"They would do that?" Mullroy asked as Ragetti led them back onto the deck of the ship.

"Aye, me da' once tol' abou' some soldiers tryin' ta sneak inta the Cove by keepin' men dressed loik pirates on deck an' the res' down below in the bunks."

"How were they caught?" Murtogg asked as they reached the gangplank.

"They didn' 'ave a Piece o' Eigh'." Ragetti explained as he promptly tossed the two mentioned Pieces down to the leader of the party; a large man with an axe strapped to his back and another in his hand.

Holding them up to the light, his eyes grew wide in surprise and he promptly signaled for the rest of the group to leave them be.

"Come on, lads." Ragetti said with a smile, adjusting his hat as he headed down the gangplank and took back the two Pieces.

"Is Cour' bein' 'eld naow?" he asked.

"Jus' waitin' for Mistress Ching of the Pacific Ocean and Sao Feng of the South Chinese Sea." Their guide explained, turning to lead the way. "Barbossa of the Caspian Sea called for the meeting, but he doesn't have his Piece."

"Tha' is because I am 'is Piece Bearer." Ragetti explained calmly. "An' Sao Feng is dead an' 'is Piece belongs ta me naow. I am naow Ragetti o' the South Chinese Sea."

"As is the way o' the world." The man nodded, leading them into the main city.

"Blimey…" Murtogg whispered softly, looking around in surprise that something that looked so unstable could last so long as a fortress.

"Don' stop." Ragetti whispered softly. "Et's no' wise ta look like a rube aroun' 'ere. Ye'll git a dagger between yer ribs fasta than ye kin breathe!"

They were led into the tallest tower and once at the doors that led to the meeting room; their guide took with his leave with a bow that confused the two former Naval officers.

"Ar' ye ready, lads?" Ragetti asked them with a smile, resting his hand on the door.

The two nodded warily, looking at each other.

"Good…"

Pushing open the door, Ragetti stepped inside with his two bodyguards and chaos promptly ensued.


	23. Chapter 23

It was Barbossa who reacted first, getting to his feet and staring at Ragetti as if he was seeing a ghost.

"'ello, cap'n." Ragetti said with a smile, tilting his head to one side to make the wooden eye roll back into place. "'ow was et bein' dead?"

"I knew it!" Laughing, Barbossa ran over to Ragetti and hugged him tightly.

"Can' breathe…"

"Ye bloody bastard! I knew ye weren't dead!" Barbossa laughed, thumping him hard on the back to make the wooden eye pop out into his open hand. "And ye kept the eye all this time! I knew I wasn't daft in trusting ye with me eye!"

"Suppose no'." Ragetti shrugged, signaling for Murtogg and Mullroy to stand behind the chair decorated with symbols of waves rolling by.

"How did you get here?" Jack asked, looking anxious as his hands seemed to move with a mind of their own.

Ragetti looked at him in silence for a moment and the strange Pirate Lord actually flinched.

"Wot's the matta?" Ragetti asked, drawing his sword and heading for the globe with a steady step.

"Nothing!" Jack lied and he mentally prayed that Ragetti would not reveal that he had made a deal with Beckett before the insane short man had gone out to sea.

Ragetti said nothing and he just inserted his sword where the South China Sea was marked.

"And what do you think you are doing?" Chevalle the Frenchman demanded. "That is for Lords only! Not Piece Bearers!"

Opening his mouth to answer, Ragetti was interrupted when Mistress Ching and her guards suddenly entered the room and he smiled and promptly went to the last empty chair that was painted with scenes of storms at sea.

Mistress Ching tilted her head towards her chair when she heard it being pulled back and a smile crossed her usually stern face.

"There is only one man who ever pulled the chair out for me!" she said, reaching up to touch Ragetti's face.

"'ello, marm." Ragetti said with a smile and once more the wind was squeezed out of him as she hugged him tightly.

"Mackenzie!" Mistress Ching laughed. "It has been too long! How have you been?"

"No' very well actually…" he admitted.

Frowning slightly, Mistress Ching turned her head from one side to the other, as if her dead eyes could see anything.

"But…where is your matelot? The little man with the short temper?"

"Dead. Beckett 'ad 'im killed ta git ta me." Ragetti explained to her and the rest of the Court.

When he was met with surprised looks, he glanced over at Jack and found him slowly trying to head for the exit.

"Beckett is a danger ta all o' pirate kind!" he said seriously and he then held up Sao Feng's Piece of Eight.

"How..?" Chevalle started, but Ragetti shook his head and silenced him with a glare.

"Sao Feng was killed by Beckett afta 'e ga' me 'is Piece o' Eigh'! I am naow the Lord o' the South Chinese Sea an' I say tha' this meetin' o' the Lords is naow complete an' ready ta take place! Barbossa o' the Caspian Sea, ye were the 'un who called fer this meetin' an' ye may naow say wot needs ta be said!"

Chevalle opened his mouth as if to protest about this arrangement but a sudden melody played upon a guitar silenced him as he glanced over to the end of the table; where the Keeper of the Code always sat during the Brethren Court's meetings.

Teague eyed the Frenchman dangerously and he promptly sat down and was silent once more as Barbossa made his case for not only starting a war with Beckett, but to also release Calypso from her human bonds.

This of course was met by laughter from all of the members of the Court except for Teague and Ragetti.

"This place is a fortress!" Mistress Ching pointed out. "We can easily hold out in here!"

"Agreed." Jocard nodded. "We don't need to waste a single bullet on that scum."

"And to suggest releasing the sea goddess!" Ammand huffed. "We should cut off your tongue!"

"Agreed!" Jack piped in.

Sri Sumbhajee whispered to his speaker and the man slowly stood up.

"My Lord suggests shooting Barbossa!"

"Ooh!" Jack said happily, clapping his hands together. "Or we could cut off his tongue and shoot it!"

A string on Teague's guitar snapped loudly and silence once more fell as Jack flinched and gave his father a weak smile and shrug.

"Got caught up in the moment…" he muttered.

Teague only glared at him before glancing over at Ragetti.

"What does Master Ragetti of the South Chinese Sea have to say about this proposal?"

All eyes turned on him and for a moment, Ragetti wished that things were back to the way they had been before Jack had made that deal with Davy Jones. The man had traded Ragetti's life for an additional few years on their contract and mixed with the hidden map for gold, had caused the crew to mutiny against him.

Ragetti was never one for being a leader and giving out orders; that was why he was in fact glad when his father chose Barbossa instead of himself as the next Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea. He knew that he would never be able to do this right.

And now he himself was a Pirate Lord and everyone was looking at him intently, wondering what he could have to say about all of this.

I wish Pinters was here… He thought to himself sadly.

_Come on, ye bloody stoopid one-eyed bastar'! Pick yer 'ead up an' say wot ye go' ta say!_

"Master Ragetti?"

Slowly, Ragetti picked his head up as he slowly moved to stand beside Barbossa.

"Le' me tell ye wot's 'appened ta me fer the las' 'alf a bloody year!" he said. "An' then le's take a vote abou' a war! As fer releasin' Calypso…" He glared at Barbossa angrily.

"Tha' would be dangerous an' stoopid!" he snapped at him. "Bu' anyway…"


	24. Chapter 24

He didn't like the way that they were looking at him and he soon was looking down at the ground and picking at his cuticles, making them bleed as he wished that they would stop staring at him.

The silence soon became unbearable and with nothing else to do with his hands, Ragetti put on the eye patch over the hole in his face and glared at them all.

"I'm no' ashamed o' bein' able ta play the feckin' 'arp!" he snapped at them. "Naow I vote fer us ta figh' Beckett! Who else agrees wi' me?"

Before any of the other Lords could give their opinion, Jack got up with a look of triumph on his face.

"War can only be declared once a Pirate King is elected!" he said, pointing an accusing finger at Ragetti suddenly. "Ha!"

Noting the look of disgust on everyone's face, Jack frowned and promptly pointed at his father.

"Is it not in the Code?" he asked.

"It is." Teague acknowledged. "But of course it never works since everyone always votes for themselves…"

"Let's have a vote!" Jack said; his motions becoming sharp and almost jagged in his anxiousness to try and stop this talk of war against Beckett and his armada.

"Very well." Teague sighed, all ready guessing what the outcome would be as all of the Pieces were put together in an old wooden bowl.

"I vote for Jocard!" Jocard announced proudly, pounding a fist to his chest to emphasize his right to be King.

"Chevalle!"

The Spaniard Villanueva glared at the Frenchman and then snorted softly.

"Villanueva shall be Pirate King!"

"Ammand!" the corsair announced proudly.

There was a brief and whispered conversation between Sri Sumbhajee and his speaker.

"The honorable Lord Sri Sumbhajee votes for Sri Sumbhajee!"

"Captain Jack Sparrow naturally!" Jack said, sweeping off his hat and bowing to them all.

All eyes turned on the three remaining voters and a wicked smile touched Jack's lips.

There was no way he could lose this.

"Hector Barbossa."

"Mackenzie Giovanni Ragetti." He mumbled, fiddling with the ruffles on his sleeves.

This had all been for nothing then…Pintel was dead and he was never going to avenge himself and all of those murdered innocents...

"Mackenzie Ragetti!"

He slowly turned his head to look at Mistress Ching in shock and as shouts and screams rang throughout the room to try and make her change her vote, the blind woman only smiled at him.

"You and I are the only blood relatives left from the first Lords." She explained softly. "One of us should be Pirate King."

"Marm…"

The voices died away when his voice was heard and Ragetti looked around in surprise at this new power he had.

"What is yer decision on this Beckett business, Lordship?" Barbossa asked, sweeping his hat off of his head as he bowed his head slightly to Ragetti.

"Don' bow ta me, cap'n." Ragetti mumbled softly. "I'm still Ragetti…"

"Nevertheless, yer the Pirate King and we need yer decision."

Taking a deep breath, Ragetti closed his eye and tried to relax his heart's rapid beating.

"War!" he said and war it was.


	25. Chapter 25

Beckett was an utter wreck when they reached the sudden blockade of pirate ships waiting for him a few days later. His clothes were unkempt and messy and his wig looked as if a dog had chewed on it for a few days straight.

And it was all because he was missing his harp player and sex slave.

Curling his lip slightly at the pirates standing between him and his pet and goal in life, he turned to Lieutenant Groves with a mad smile on his lips.

"Do you see what they're doing?" he asked. Blinking, Groves tried not to look too confused.

"Sir?"

"They want to make a deal with me about giving me back my slave!" Beckett said, turning back to the pirate ships with a hungry look on his face. "There's a sandbar out there between the two of us! That's where the meeting is going to be and there's all ready four people standing out there waiting for me!"

"Sir, it could be a trap…"

"Shut up, Groves!" Beckett hissed, his face turning into an angry snarl suddenly.

Groves promptly shut his mouth, knowing when it was wise to just walk away from Beckett as the man ran off to get into a rowboat and make a deal for the return of his slave.

…

When Beckett got onto the sandbar, he saw that the men waiting for him were Norrington, Jack, and Barbossa. The fourth man was standing behind the three and easily hidden and he frowned slightly as he walked up and tried to look sane, failing once they looked at his ragged appearance.

"You stole my slave and didn't give him back!" he accused Norrington. "Where is my slave?!"

"First things first, Beckett." Norrington said sharply with narrowed eyes. He and the rest of the former Naval soldiers had been given normal clothes while at Shipwreck Cove and he once more bore stubble on his face, his natural hair allowed to go wild as there were more important things in life to worry about than looks.

"What things?" Beckett whined, stomping a foot on the ground. "Give me my whore back!"

"I'm no' yer whore anymore."

Beckett gasped in surprise as Barbossa calmly stepped to one side, revealing the fourth man that was standing behind him.

Ragetti had insisted that his usual clothes were just fine and so the only thing added was a large green hat topped with a bright red feather, causing Jack to comment on it by comparing it to Will Turner's stupid hat.

When asked where exactly Will Turner was at the moment, Jack Sparrow had mumbled out a lie as fast as possible which translated that Will was dead and it was his fault.

His eye patch had also been changed to a soft green colored one, covering the hole where the Piece of Eight for the Caspian Sea had been for years.

Narrowing his one good eye, Ragetti spat on the ground near Beckett's feet.

"I am no' yer slave anymore, Beckett." He snarled at him. "An' I neva will be agin!"

"But pet…I had your eye fixed for you!"

"We ar' only goin' ta say this once, Beckett! 'ave yer men turn back an' leave this place afore et's too late! Gi' et up!" Ragetti pleaded.

But Beckett was a stubborn man who had lost his mind weeks ago and he pointed an accusing finger at Norrington now.

"You turned my whore against me!" he wailed and the four men could not help but look at him with some pity. "You stole him and changed him and now he won't come back to his master anymore! I will make you all suffer for this!"

And before any of them could say anything else to try and talk sense into him, Beckett stormed off back to his rowboat and the four of them were left standing on the sandbar.

"We tried." Norrington sighed, shaking his head. "But that man has gone completely insane!"

"Et's almos' sad." Ragetti said softly, watching Beckett row off towards his ship again.

"This is why we need to release Calypso!" Barbossa said as they headed back for the Black Pearl. "With her on our side…"

"She will no' be on our side." Ragetti snapped. "She is a Goddess wi' 'er own though's an' wishes! We can' trus' 'er! Naow stop this!"

Barbossa hesitated for a moment as they climbed up the gangplank and he looked over at some of the crew, a silent signal passing as Cotton suddenly produced the bowl with the Pieces of Eight in it.

Ragetti frowned and stopped when he saw Tia standing in the middle of the deck, bound tightly with ropes to keep her in place.

"Wot..?"

"Hold them!" Barbossa shouted and Norrington and Ragetti were promptly grabbed and held back tightly as Barbossa took the bowl from Cotton and walked up to Tia with a torch in the other hand.

"Barbossa! Don' do this!" Ragetti shouted, struggling uselessly with Gibbs. "Ye don' know wot she will do once freed!"

"Beckett's got the Flying Dutchman, Master Ragetti." Barbossa said, holding the flames over the Pieces. "We need something to balance it out!"

"Barbossa!" Ragetti shouted. "Don' do et!"

"CALYPSO! I RELEASE YE FROM YER HUMAN BONDS!" Barbossa shouted up into the sky and he promptly pressed the fire to the Pieces of Eight.


	26. Chapter 26

Nothing happened.

Blinking in confusion, Barbossa stared at the perfectly fine Pieces of Eight and wondered what could have gone wrong. All of the Pieces were gathered together and he had said the right words as if to a lover on a balcony!

So what could have gone wrong?

Looking up at Tia, Barbossa noted that she was glancing over at Ragetti and he knew what he needed to do.

"Get Master Ragetti over here!" he barked and Ragetti was promptly dragged over to stand beside her, still fighting to try and get free.

"Why didn't it work?" Barbossa demanded.

"Ye didn' say et righ'." Ragetti mumbled, turning away so that he was not looking at Tia or Barbossa. "Ye 'ave ta say et righ'."

"Why don't you show us how to say it right then?" Barbossa asked, drawing a pistol and taking aim at Ragetti's other eye.

"Barbossa…"

"I like ye, lad. I've always thought ye were one of the few good pirates on the Pearl but this is for everyone's lives! Now do it and say it like ye mean it!" Barbossa growled, narrowing his eyes.

After one last attempt at breaking free failed, Ragetti stopped struggling and his shoulders slumped as he looked down at the ground.

"We're all waiting, King."

Looking over at Tia, Ragetti hesitated, his throat closing a few times in fear.

"Do…Do ye know who I am?" he asked softly and Gibbs let him go and backed away to avoid any bad luck rubbing off. Ragetti did not attempt to make a run for it however, and he just stood looking at the bound Tia.

"Aye, I know ye." Tia whispered; her accent as soft and gentle as a morning breeze. "Da las' child of Calix One Eye, ye ar'." Her eyes narrowed dangerously then and Ragetti was vaguely reminded about the rule of not touching an animal when its hurt because it will bite you.

Tia looked mad enough to bite his whole hand off.

Swallowing down the growing lump in his throat, Ragetti fidgeted with his hands as he stared down at them intently.

"Da bastard who tricked me to sleep wif 'im." She snarled; baring her ink stained teeth at him.

"Aye, tha's the 'un." Ragetti said helplessly. "'is blood flows through me veins an' et's because o' tha' tha' I'm goin' ta do this. As an apology ta yer fer wot 'e done ta ye."

"Ar' ye sure it's not the pistol aimed at yer face?" she taunted.

"No, et's because I've always loved the sea." Ragetti said. "E'en afore I knew all abou' ye an' the Cour' an' the Pirate Lords…I loved the sea an' everyfing abou' et. Bu' wi' ye bound in yer 'uman flesh yer no' in control an' the sea tha' I love aint real. Et's jus' a fake tha' the original Lords made.

"I've always wondered wot et would be like wi' ye back in charge an' controllin' the waters again an' tha's why…"

His hands were shaking badly as he slowly leaned forward, his lips barely touching her ear as he whispered the words.

"Calypso, I release ye from yer 'uman bonds."

With a loud whoosh the Pieces burst into flames and as Ragetti backed away from the convulsing Tia; he couldn't help but feel that Pintel was proud of him somehow and as the ropes fell away from her naked body, Ragetti knew that his release of Calypso had been the right thing.

Calypso stood before the pirates of the Pearl; stark naked but now there was a kind of aura surrounding Her, making Her unable to be touched.

Glaring at all of the pirates of the ship in turn, as if contemplating sinking them all now, She turned to Ragetti and the expression on Her face softened.

"Wot would ye 'ave me do?" she asked.

"Nuffin', Lady." Ragetti said and this caused Barbossa to stare at him as if he had suddenly gone mad.

"Ragetti!"

"Yer a goddess…'ow kin a mortal man make a demand o' ye?" Ragetti asked Her, and She nodded as if he had just given the right answer.

Holding out Her hand, She closed it tightly before opening it again, a neckerchief that Ragetti knew very well lay in the palm of Her hand.

"For ye." She purred, holding it out to him.

Bowing his head, Ragetti slowly took the neckerchief out of her hand and in a flash she disintegrated and reformed as a swarm of stone colored crabs and fell over the side of the ship.

Barbossa's hands were around his throat at once, ready to strangle him.

"Ye bloody fool!" he shouted. "Ye've doomed us all!"

But Ragetti did not hear him; he was too intent on simply staring at Pintel's neckerchief and wishing that the man was here with him.

"The Flying Dutchman is heading this way!" a lookout shouted and Ragetti and Barbossa both looked up at the same time and found this to be true.

"Move forward!" Ragetti shouted, and he turned and gave Barbossa such an intense stare that the man was forced to let go. Tying the neckerchief around his wrist tightly, Ragetti moved forward and took full command of the crew.

"Git the cannons ready an' turn this bloody ship on 'er side when we git close enough!" he roared and the crew scrambled to follow his orders at once. Doomed or not, they still needed to fight.

The only assistance that Calypso gave to either side was to push them both together with the winds and waves that she had taken back control of.

Soon the Flying Dutchman and Pearl were in firing and shouting distance and Ragetti stood with one arm raised, ready to give the signal as he looked over at the Flying Dutchman.

"When do we fire?" Barbossa asked, growing anxious as Ragetti just stood staring at the Flying Dutchman.

"Look o'er there." Ragetti answered instead.

"What..?" But Barbossa looked and he frowned when he noticed what Ragetti had noticed.

There was not a single red coat on the ship, not a one. The mutated crew of the Flying Dutchman were all just standing and looking over at the crew of the Pearl, waiting for their captain to arrive.

"What do ye think they're doing?" Barbossa asked.

"Fer some'un who knew the righ' answers afore, yer certainly confused naow." Ragetti pointed out, glaring at the man. "I don' fink pointin' a pistol in me face is par' o' the Code!"

Before Barbossa could answer him, Davy Jones made his appearance on the deck of the ship and a slow smile spread across Ragetti's face.

"We win."

Davy Jones was holding Mercer's head, a look of pain and agony frozen on his features forever as it was held up high for both sides to see.


	27. Chapter 27

"What's taking him so long to fire on them?" Beckett whined, reminding his soldiers of a child that is impatient for dinner or a new toy.

"He's supposed to be firing cannons and killing them all!" the man explained, looking at all of them as if this were obvious. "Why isn't he doing it?"

"Sir…" Groves tried and he was promptly shot in the throat by Beckett.

"I didn't say you could talk!" he told the dead man. He then turned to Greitzer with a smile that made the man's blood turn cold.

Greitzer knew that they were all going to die the instant that Beckett smiled like that.

"Move forward!" Beckett ordered and with nothing else to do, they obeyed him and moved.

As soon as Beckett's ship was away from the rest of his armada, Calypso lashed out and screams rang out into the sky as the sea seemed to just open up and swallow Beckett's entire armada, dragging them all to the bottom of the sea.

"Look what you did!" Beckett accused Greitzer and before the confused man could offer up any kind of excuse to the madman, he was knocked overboard as Beckett swung his cane and struck him across the face with it.

"I want my toy back!" Beckett growled, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the two ships intently.

He failed to notice that they were standing next to each other and that the way they were going; he would be sliding right between them.

"Would ye care to have yer cannons go first?" Davy shouted over to Ragetti as Beckett headed their way.

"Age afore beauty, mate!" Ragetti laughed and as Beckett's ship moved right into range, the Flying Dutchman tore it a literal new one with her cannons. The Pearl soon followed afterwards and Beckett's ship was slowly ripped apart piece by piece.

Beckett's mind seemed to snap back to sane as the cannons ripped into his ship and he couldn't believe how everything had turned out wrong.

He had lost his slave, his armada, his hopes and dreams of ruling the seas, and now he was going to die.

As soldiers went flying everywhere, torn apart by debris and the gunfire rained down on them from both ships, Beckett just stared out into nothingness, slowly walking onto the deck of his ship.

"Masta!"

Looking up, Beckett stared at an armed Ragetti.

"This is fer Pinters!"

For someone missing one eye, Ragetti was a good shot and Beckett crumpled to the ground just as a cannonball found the room with the gunpowder and blew the ship completely apart.

…

For a full week the pirates of Shipwreck Cove held a celebration in honor of Ragetti and the fall of the madman once known as Cutler Beckett.

Davy Jones of course was unable to attend, but he did send Koleniko with a message for Ragetti; explaining that he had only helped because he hated Beckett more than he hated them and that now that Calypso had forgiven him and taken him back, he would go back to his duties ferrying those lost at sea to their final resting place.

Ragetti had smiled at the news and nodded, offering his congratulations to Calypso and Davy for coming back together, saying that the sea was most likely never the same without the two of them together and taking care of it.

He also allowed Koleniko to take Jack back as payment and the party became all the more louder and happier without the insane and always scheming drunk Lord.

Norrington was made Lord of the Caribbean Sea instead; appointed by Ragetti himself.

…

Even though the celebration was mostly for him, Ragetti refused to take part in it all that much. He instead stayed onboard The Pintel, staying with the cannons and his thoughts as he looked down at the neckerchief Calypso had given him.

He could have asked Her to bring him back…

Shutting his eye, Ragetti pressed his lips to the neckerchief that had once been Pintel's and he knew that even if he could, he wouldn't have. Pintel had been dead for more than half a year's time now and the man deserved his rest after so many years of pirating and killing.

He imagined warm hands resting on his shoulders and he smiled as a soft giggle escaped him.

Pintel looked down at his matelot and cocked an eyebrow slightly, wondering why he hadn't reacted to his touch the way that he had hoped he would.

"I miss yer, Pinters." Ragetti whispered. "Bu' I kin…"

"Kin wot?" the short man demanded, resting his hands on his hips. "Stop bein' a daft bugger an' kiss me all ready?"

Ragetti gasped and got to his feet at once when he realized that he had not imagined Pintel's hands on his shoulders at all.

"Pinters!" he shouted and he wrapped his arms around him tightly, tears of joy running down his cheek.

"Yer given a chance ta ask fer anyfing ye wan' an' ye say nuffin'?!" Pintel snapped, smacking him upside the head sharply. "Ye could o' asked fer me!"

"Ow! Pint! Et's no' righ' ta ask a Goddess fer anyfing! Their gifts kin be cursed!" he tried.

"A bloody likely story!" Pintel growled. "Ye probably jus' wanted ta go wi' Norrington!" He kept the scowl for a few more seconds before smiling up at him, wrapping his arms tightly around his middle.

"Fiddler's Green wasn' the same wi' ou' ye lad." He said softly.

"Ye go' in then?" Ragetti asked happily.

"'ad ta make a lo' o' apologies bu', aye!" Pintel nodded. "Calypso go' me ou' jus' a while ago, said She needed ta gi' ye a gift fer freein' 'er an' no' makin' any demands o' 'er."

"See? Askin' fer somefing aint good! Yer supposed ta wait an' le' the person choose wot ye git!"

Rolling his eyes, Pintel took back his neckerchief and tied it around his throat once more.

"Jus' shut up an' le's git back ta the party, Pirate King!" he snorted.

Ragetti giggled, covering his mouth with one hand as a thought suddenly came to him.

"Wot?"

"Nuffin'…

"Rags…"

"Ye kin be me Pirate Queen!"

When Ragetti and Pintel showed up again to the party, Ragetti sported a fresh black eye.


End file.
